Tales of Angels
by knownobody
Summary: What if Lloyd was found by Phaidra instead of Dirk? What if he was found as an Angel? What would happen if Anna died in child birth on Welgaia? What if Martel sent Lloyd to look after Colette and to keep her away from Cruxis? *Contains Spoilers*
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! this is just an idea that popped into my head, so here you go:

Disclaimer: I, Knownobody, here by state that I do NOT own Tales of Symphonia. I do however, love the game.

Summery: What if Lloyd was found by Phaidra instead of Dirk? What if he was found as an Angel? What would happen if Anna died in child birth on Welgaia? What if Martel sent Lloyd to look after Colette and to keep her away from Cruxis?

_*** Contains Spoilers***_

_**Tales of Angels **_

_**Chapter 1**_

"Quick! Check this way!" a voice yelled. A vast city, a city of silence and metal was in a total uproar. Humanoid figures with wings, angels, were scrambling all over the city. The normally life-less angels would float around silently waiting to be given a task, but not today. Today they were searching, searching for someone.

Two other figures stood at the foot of a large circular platform on the floor. The platform had an intricate pattern written on it. It hummed a light tune as a dim light pulsated from it.

The first figure had emerald green eyes, and long blond hair. He wore a white spandex suit with gold trimming. He had large pink and purple wings fluttering calmly formed from his back. The figure seemed to be mulling things over in his mind as he pulled a look of concentration on his face.

The figure next to him, had crimson red eyes, and spiky red hair. He wore a white and blue uniform with a matching sparrow tail cape. He had gold colored belts crossing over his chest and waist. He had a long sword attached to his belt. From his back sprouted blue sparrow like wings which were fluttering tensely, as if mimicking the man's emotions. He was turning his head around anxiously, his eyes showing desperation and worry. In contrast to the blond who was partially calm, this man was frantic.

"Kratos?" the blond asked. The red head turned to the blond.

"Yes Lord Yggrassil?" Kratos asked weakly.

"Your absolutely certain that Lloyd left? And that he left on his own?" Yggrassil asked.

"Yes Lord Yggrassil, I couldn't find him anywhere," Kratos said sadly. "I think Noishe may have gone with him though, so at least he's not alone."

"That doesn't matter, all that matters is that we find him. Lloyd is the only one that can speak with Martel, so therefore, when she is brought back, she will need her servant. Lloyd should still be here in Welgaia, there are only two ways back to the worlds, the one under guard in the Tower of Salvation, and the other is in Vinheim, but that one is inhabited by monsters. That servant isn't stupid enough to go through there."

Kratos winced at his surperior's words. '_Lloyd isn't a "servant," he's my son!'_ the red head said to himself.

"Kratos, continue your search, use as many angels, or designs as you need, just bring Lloyd home," Yggrassil said as he turned back to the humming platform. He disappeared as soon as he stepped onto it, leaving Kratos standing there by himself as the other angels continued to search frantically.

'_Where's Yuan when you need him?' _Kratos thought angrily as his desperation quickly turned to anger. '_This is all Yggrassil's fault, he had Lloyd spend too much time around the Great Seed, and now this happens.' _

Kratos ran through the city, looking for his five year old son. '_Lloyd where could you have gotten to?' _Kratos ran into a large group of angels and called for their attention.

"What can we do for you Lord Kratos?" One of the life-less angels asked. Unlike Kratos and Yggrassil, these angels had solid wings made of flesh and feathers instead of mana.

"I need you to search Vinheim for Lloyd, If you find him, bring him back immediately!" Kratos ordered.

"Understood," the angel said calmly, and as a group they all took off towards another warp panel. Kratos once again stood by himself before he took off in search again.

The next thing Kratos knew, as he turned around a corner, was that he finally found an old friend of his. Well, actually they found each other, as they collided.

"Kratos? What's going on?" a blue haired man who also had emerald green eyes asked as he rubbed his now sore head. "What are all the angels searching for?" he asked. He rose from the ground and dusted off his blue cloak and armor. His white pants stood out from the rest of his clothes.

"Yuan, Lloyd's gone missing!" was all Kratos could say before Yuan cut him off.

"Need help looking?" Yuan offered. Kratos accepted graciously and the two went back to searching. "You don't suppose Lloyd left Welgaia do you?"

"He shouldn't have, I've never taken him out of the city before, it's too dangerous," Kratos answered.

* * *

A middle aged woman with short blond hair gazed up at the clear sky. Her hair was beginning to gray at the edges. She wore a modest dress, the one she wore when ever she was doing anything at or for the church. She was the head priestess of the church in her small town of Iselia. The woman sighed and continued along the path she was walking on.

Two others accompanied the priestess. Both of them also middle aged. They were both the same hight, and both wore similar church robes. The two of them both wore similar priest hats, that covered their balding heads.

The three of them were making their way to the Church that was just on the outside of town, just as they would every single day.

"Lady Phaidra?" one of the priests said. Phaidra turned to her two companions. "Is it wise to leave the Chosen all alone back in Iselia?" he asked.

"Colette is not alone, she is with Frank, besides Raine will help him if he needs anything," the priestess responded with a smile.

"But!" the other priest tried to add but he was cut off.

"Have faith, my son knows what he's doing."

"What about the Desians?"

"Frank would die before he'd let them touch her. Besides, we have a non-aggression treaty with the Desians," Phaidra said.

"I still don't think he should be left with the Chosen without a priest," the priest muttered to his companion so that Phaidra wouldn't hear him. The man received a nod of agreement.

* * *

"Come on Noishe!" a small brunnett boy said from on top of a large dog like creature. The boy had chocolate brown eyes, and wore a simple white shirt with blue trimmings and matching pants. from his backs were blue eagle like wings. The wings were twice the boy's arm length, and were tensed up.

The creature the boy was riding was large, and had white fur with green spots. It had long wing like ears. The creature was fast and communicated through whining.

The two of then were running through the forest at a break neck pace, for they were being pursued. The boy had his arms wrapped around the dog like creature's neck. He turned his head to look behind them.

The hungry pack of wolves was still fresh on their tail, eager for their breakfast. All of the wolves had brown matted fur, except for the pack leader. It's fur was a silky black, and seemed to shine.

"Noishe! Run!" the boy urged. Noishe tried to increase his pace, but only succeeded in tripping over something, causing the both of them to crash onto the ground.

The hungry wolves surround the two of them and began to growl at them ferociously. Their feral eyes pierced the boy like an arrow through the heart. Noishe rose to his feet and stood over the young angel to protect him.

One of the wolves rushed towards Noishe, who stood his ground. The two dogs collided, Noishe having greater strength managed to brush the wolf aside, but was tackled to the ground from the side.

The boy rose to his feet, looking around desperately for help. All he found was the black wolf mere feet from him. The wolf's snarling echoed throughout his body, and the breath filled his nostrils. The wolf's paw made contact with his torso, sending him to the ground a few feet back. Weakly, the boy returned back up to his feet, grasping his torso, which was losing a good deal of blood.

Noishe, smelling his friend's blood, began to fight more ferociously against the pack of wolves, but he was out numbered. The boy began to feel helpless and desperate as the large wolf closed in on him once again.

Then, he felt his instincts take over, as he felt a strong power build up inside of him. "Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these unfortunate souls... rest in peace, sinners!" he said. A magical casting circle appeared beneath his feet, his wings tensed, and his eyes began to draw a wine red tint into them as he began to manifest the power forming inside of his body. "_**Judgement!" **_he shouted.

* * *

Phaidra and her companions continued on their way to the church until they all saw something that made their eyes widen with shock. Massive pillars of light were crashing into the ground not far from where they were.

"Light from Cruxis?" one of the priests said in amazement.

"Amazing!" the other said.

Phaidra remained silent. She turned from her path on the road and started into the forest towards the source of the light. "Lady Phaidra!" the other priests called after her but she continued, speeding up until she was in a full run.

'_That was defiantly holy light from Cruxis,' _she said to herself as her curiosity got the better of her. The head Priestess continued to run towards the source of the light until she came apon a small clearing. Apart from the many dead wolves, she saw at least one living creature.

She saw what looking like a dog, only it was much larger than a dog. It had green and white fur, and large wing like ears. The creature had many cuts and bite marks. As soon as it noticed her, the creature began to growl, as if giving a warning.

Then she realised why. Next to the creature was a small boy, no older than five. His face was hidden behind his hair, but she could easily see the sweat dripping from his face. His clothes were torn, and he had a large cut on his torso. But what Phiadra most most shocked about, was his back.

"An angel?" she said quietly, still shocked from what she saw. The other priests caught up to her and both seemed just as shocked as Phaidra was.

"Cruxis has sent an angel to watch over the Chosen," one of them said.

"He's going to die if we don't help him," Phaidra said gathering the other two's attention. As soon as she tried to approach the boy, the dog like creature began to snarl.

"Noishe," the boy said weakly. The three priests froze. "It's ok," he finished. Noishe called down, and rubbed his head against the small angel's face affectionately. Phaidra carefully approached, in case Noishe became hostile.

"Are you well enough to travel? We need to get you some where safe so you can be healed," Phaidra said calmly. The boy tried to stand up, but fell as soon as he was off the ground. Noishe tried to pick him up, but his body was too weak and could not support the two of them.

"Come here," Phaidra said as she picked up the boy and held him in her arms. As she craddled the boy, her hads went through his blue wings. It was an odd sensation, like sticking your hand into water, but her hands were dry.

She turned to the other two priests. "Go find Raine and bring her to the church," she told one. "go get Frank and bring him as well, and tell him to bring some of his old clothes from when he was a boy," she told the other.

They both nodded and ran back to the village. Phaidra continued to the church, which wasn't too far away.

"So, what's your name? And why are you all the way out here?" Phaidra asked as she walked. Noishe, limped by her side, eager to stay with his friend.

"My name is Lloyd, mommy asked me to become friends with someone named Colette, do you know where she is?" the boy answered.

Phaidra internally froze. '_An angel of Cruxis sen to look after the Chosen!' _she said to herself. "Yes, she's my grand daughter, and she's going to become an angel just like you some day," she told Lloyd. A small smile spread across his face. "I'll introduce the two of you when you get better, is that ok?"

Lloyd responded by nodding his had happily. Phaidra could feel his wings flutter peacefully. she looked down to see the boy resting, so she continued to the church that could be seen just up the hill as carefully as she could so that he wouldn't wake up.

**Side Note: The relationship between Lloyd and Martel is the same as it would be between Lloyd and Dirk. Even though Lloyd knows she isn't his real mom, he treats her like she is.**

**So, what did you think of the first chapter? You can let me know by reviewing! Thank you!**

**Comments, Questions, suggestions, all welcome!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 2**

Phaidra set Lloyd down on the alter carefully so that the boy wouldn't wake up. It surprised her, seeing as how large the gash on his torso was, that it wasn't bleeding anymore, yet his steady breathing proved that he was still alive. In fact, it seemed as if he didn't even notice the wound. His wings fluttered calmly as the boy dreamed.

Noishe walked up and sat so close to the alter, the his side was practically on it. His cuts and scrapes were obviously bothering him, but the creature did his best not to let it show.

'_I can't believe it, Cruxis sent an angel to watch after Colette. Not only that, but one close to her age,' _Phaidra said to herself as she paced up and down before the alter. She had often prayed for Colette to be protected for when she started her journey, but she didn't actually think they would send her an angel. She turned her attention back to the young angel as he stired.

Lloyd rubbed his eyes open and looked around. "Wh-where are we?" he asked, in a high pitched voice only a child could have.

"We're at the Church of Martel, near the Village of Iselia," Phaidra answered. Lloyd continued to look around, Noishe jumped up, and while standing on his hind legs so he could reach, began to lick Lloyd affectionatly as his tail wagged excitedly.

"Noishe!" Lloyd protested weakly with a small laugh.

Phaidra was still reflecting over everything that happened just a few moments ago. "Say, Lloyd," she started. Lloyd managed to brush Noishe off just long enough to look at the priestess. "What is it like? Being an angel?" Phaidra finished. As soon as she said the word "angel" she watched the boy flinch.

Lloyd looked behind him to see his wings fluttering calmly. He immediatly put them away and turned to Phaidra with a pleading look. "Please! You can't tell anyone what I am! Mommy told me not to let anyone know!" Lloyd pleaded.

"Your Mommy?" Phaidra asked with a confused expression. Lloyd nodded.

"Yeah!" Lloyd said. "I think everyone else calls her by her name, Martle?" the boy tried to say.

"Martel!?" Phaidra gasped as she brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes reflected the shock on her face.

"Yeah! That was it!" Lloyd said with a goofy grin. "She asked me to become friends with Colette!"

"But why can't anyone know your an angel?" the priestess asked.

"Mommy said that if people knew, then bad people would come," Lloyd said. "Also, she said that it would be too much pressure on Colette."

'_Bad people? He must mean the Desians! Yes, they would violate the treaty to get him,' _Phaidra said to herself as she nodded her head in understanding to the young angel. "I understand, I and the other priests here at the church will keep your secret."

"Thank you," Lloyd said thankfully.

* * *

"Frank!" the priest yelled as he barged into the Brunnel Home. A man with short blond hair and deep blue eyes turned to look at the visitor. A quizical look on his face. He wore a brown shirt with a green vest over it. He also wore brown pants.

"Yes?" Frank answered in a deep voice.

"Lady Phaidra requires your assistance!"

"Mom?" Frank asked quietly. The priest nodded. "What does she need?"

"She needs you to come to the church immediatly! Oh, and bring some of your cloths from when you were a boy," the priest answered quickly.

"Uh, ok? What happened?"

"No time! Just hurry!"

Frank nodded and went upstairs to his room, which was located across from Colette's and next to Phaidra's. In it was just simply a bed, closet, dresser, a desk, and a single large window. Frank rushed over to the closet, thankful to have not thrown his old cloths away. He grabbed a bundle of them, and rushed back downstairs.

"Good," the priest started. "Lets get-" he continued before he was interupted.

"Daddy?" said a quiet voice. Both Frank and the priest turned to see a young girl with long blond hair, and deep sapphire blue eyes standing there holding a stuffed bear. She wore a white dress, with matching white shoes. She looked confused as she held her security bear close to here. "What's going on daddy? she asked.

"Chosen?" the priest whispered to himself.

"Colette," Frank started as he knelt before his daughter. "I have to go help grandma, but I'll be right back. Ok?"

"Is grandma ok? Can I go?" she asked giving him a pleading look. Frank sighed, he couldn't deny his daughter like that. He quickly handed the clothes to the priest who protested at first, but stopped when Frank picked the small blond up and walked out the door with her.

The priest followed right after him. "So what's going on?" Frank asked.

"I'll explain at the church, time is of the essence," the priest responded.

* * *

A older teen, around the age of seventeen sat in a chair reading a book. She had silver hair, and wore an orange coat with black clothe under neath. He looked up from her book to see her two year old brother playing with a toy kendama. The small boy had matching silver hair and wore blue clothes.

The teen was enjoying the calm serenity of her sanctum, until someone barged in through the door, startling both her and her brother. She glared at the priest as he made his pressence known.

"Raine!" he said. "Quickly! You must come to the church immediatly!"

"Why? What happened?" Raine asked, her silver eyes narrowed, trying to understand the priests motives.

"We need your healing abilities! Quickly! There isn't much time!" he exclaimed practically dragging Raine off of her feet. The teen just barely managed to grab her staff before she was yanked out the door.

"Genis! Be good! I'll be right back!" She called out to her little brother.

* * *

Kratos scanned the ground below him. From so high up, even a large building would appear insignificant. But to thanks to his trained angelic eyes, he could easily see the features of every single person.

"Damn it!" he cursed. '_Lloyd! Where are you?' _he said to himself as he continued to scan the skies. Yuan was searching the Eastern parts of Sylvarant, while Kratos searched the west.

He continued flying, over towns, forests, fields, even rivers and lakes. Eventually, he landed so he could give his wings a break. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he hid his wings.

The angel began to pace up and down the clearing he was in before deciding the check a newby forest. '_Lloyd always did like to play hide and go seek,' _he reassured himself.

Not even ten minutes into the forest, he came across a scent he became all too familiar with. "Blood?" he said quietly. His parental instincts got the better of him and he charged towards the source of the smell.

* * *

Raine and Frank arrived at the church at the same time. The two priests escorted them inside and led them to the alter where Phaidra had set Lloyd down. Raine immediatly went to check on the boys condition when she saw all of the dried blood.

Frank set Colette down and walked towards the alter. His daughter stayed close him the whole time. "What's this all about Mom?" Frank asked as one of the priests handed the priestess the clothes.

"I'll fill you in later Frank," Phaidra whispered into Frank's ear.

"Well, I've healed as much as I can," Raine said after she finished healing the boy. She whipped the sweat off her forehead.

"Thank you Raine, your elven healing arts are supurb," Phaidra said with a smile.

"It was nothing," Raine replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on Genis."

"Yes, of course," the priestess said as she nodded in agreement. The elf left the church and began her trip home.

The two priests looked at Lloyd with quizical looks, then walked over to Phaidra and pulled her aside. Lloyd gave the two confused looks as they stared at him.

"Lady Phaidra, what happened to the angel's wings?" one of them asked in a whisper.

"He put them away," Phaidra answered in a similar tone.

"Why? He's an angel! He should be proud of what he is!" the other said.

"It would be kinda hard for a guardian angel to be a gardian when he's being hunted, don't you think?" Phaidra said in a some what irritated voice.

"The Desians?" one asked, only to recieve a nod.

"Listen, no one else can know that Lloyd is an angel, got it?"

"So his name is Lloyd? Ok, I understand."

"As do I."

Frank had helpped Lloyd out of his torn clothes, and into some of his old ones. Once he finished, Colette looked out from behind her father's legs.

"Daddy? Who's that?" she asked quietly. Lloyd heard her and jumped down from the alter.

"Hi! My name's Lloyd! who are you?" the young angel asked with a smile as he stuck out his hand. Colette pulled her security bear up to her face.

"I-I'm Colette," she said quietly. Lloyd's smile got even bigger.

"Wanna be friends?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, a smile forming on her face as she slowly lowered her security bear.

"Lloyd was it?" Frank said as he knelled down next to the kids. "You're not from around here are you?" Lloyd shook his head. "Where are your parent's?" After a moment, Lloyd turned his head to the sky. '_Oh dear, he's parents must have passed away,' _

"You can stay with us!" Colette suddenly suggested.

"R-really?" Lloyd asked. Frank nodded his head in approval as Colette nodded vigerously.

* * *

"Dear, oh dear," a short man said with a smirk. He had small narrow red eyes, and bleach blond hair. He wore a blue general's uniform. In one of his hands he help a golden staff, while the other hand was rubbing his chin.

He was standing in a small clearing. It was aparent from all of the foot prints and blood that a battle had occured here, but the wolf corpses looked like they were killed by something other than teeth or claws.

Kratos stepped out from behind the man. He looked around noticed the foot prints, but he mostly recognised a familiar set of prints. "Noishe?" he whispered. The other man turned to look at him.

"Kratos? What are you doing here?" the man asked.

"..." Krastos responded. The angel went over the entire area, then stopped when he saw a small child's foot print, and some blood covering them. Kratos's eyes began to glow with rage as a fire built up within him. he turned to face the short man. "Kvar! Where is my son!"

"What?" Kvar spat. "I don't know anything about your son, I thought he was always with Martel," he tried to say to his defence, but Kratos wasn't listening. Kvar's eyes filled with fear.

Kratos's wings emerged from his back, and he drew his blade. The blade looked like it was made of frozen fire, and gave off a dim light, that reflected the hated in his eyes. "Sacred powers..." he started chanting. Kvar lost his cool and quickly teleported out of there. Kratos yelled at the top of his lungs and stabbed the blade into the ground.

The lone angel fell to his knees. His wings droped to his sides minicking his sadness. "Now I've lost Lloyd as well," he said with tears pouring down his face as he gazed at the blood. There was too much of it for the wound to be a minor one. "First Anna, now Lloyd, I'm so sorry to the both of you."

The angel reached for his sword, but someone stopped him. Kratos looked to his side. His wine red eyes meet emeral green. "Lord Yggrassil!" he exclaimed.

"Come Kratos, time to go," Yggrassil said in a tone that meant not to be questioned. Obediantly, Kratos followed.

* * *

Later that evening, Lloyd traveled to his new home with Colette, Frank, and Phaidra. They were all currently sitting in the dinning room, and were all eating dinner, but Phaidra and Frank paid close attention to Lloyd, who seemed to eat barely anything.

After dinner, Frank tucked Coolette into her bed and read her a bed time story affectively putting her to sleep.

"So, Lloyd, where do you want to sleep?" Phaidra asked. Lloyd gave the question a bit of thought before answering.

"With Noishe!" Lloyd answered. Phaidra sighed. She didn't want to let the creature in, but, if it made the young angel feel more comfertable, then she had to oblige.

As Noishe walked into the living room, he curled up before the fireplace where Lloyd snuggled up to the large dog and instantly fell asleep. As he slept his wings subconciously emerged from his back jsut as Frank was quietly desending down the stairs.

"Ok Mom," Frank started in a low voice. "What happened?" he asked.

"Turn around and take a look for yourself," Phaidra answered. Frank gather her a confused look before turning around.

Frank felt his heart stop. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "A-a," he tried to say. The beautiful blue wings had him mezmorized, the shimmering light illuminated his eyes.

"An angel, sent from Cruxis, to watch after the Chosen," Phaidra said even quieter. "No one, not even Colette can know about this," she said.

"Why?" Frank asked.

"Because it is his wish." Frank nodded in understanding. "Only you, me, and the other priests know, it will stay that way until Lloyd reveals his secret himself."

* * *

ok, that's a good spot to end. i'm tired, so, yeah....

hope you enjoyed this chapter, i'm not exactly 100% pleased with it, but it sufices.

anyway, why don't you tell me what you think?

review!!!!

comments, questions, etc. ALL WELCOME!!!!!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Tales of Angel**_

**Chapter 3**

It had been five years since the priests found Lloyd in the forest, and five years since he became friends with Colette. The two of them were practically inseparable during the day, and on the rare occasion that they weren't together, they wouldn't be far from each other.

Although Lloyd had been taken in by Frank and Phiadra with open arms, he often found himself staying at Dirk's, who was kind enough to let Noishe stay there since he wasn't welcome in the village, being a large wolf-like dog had its disadvantages. Lloyd often tried to repay the dwarf by helping out in his workshop from time to time when ever he had the chance, and Dirk welcomed the help.

Dirk lived just outside of the town, his house was visible just beyond the village entrance. Being different from humans more than elves were, he was looked down upon, quite literally, but Dirk had a soft spot for Lloyd, and Colette when ever she came with Lloyd.

Lloyd, was also rejected by the majority of the village, not just for being an outsider, but also because he had no family to call his own, no father, no mother, just the Brunels, Dirk, Noishe, and the priests. Raine took a liking to him after some time, especially when he befriended her little brother, giving Genis the first really friend he ever had.

Although Lloyd and Colette both were allowed to attend regular school like most children, they're lives were anything but normal, for most of the day, the two of them would be stuck at the church, Colette studying the Angelic Language, and learning how to be a chosen, while Lloyd was often dragged off by the priests for some other activity. This day was no different.

* * *

Both Lloyd and Colette were both released at the same time. They wore the exact same style clothing, only Colette wore a dress, and Lloyd wore robes. Lloyd's pants were baggier, and the only thing that truely made their outfits different, was that Lloyd's clothes had long white scarves knitted in by Phaidra.

The two kids both let out exhausted sighs at the exact same time. When they realised this, they smiled at each other and started laughing before making their way back to the village.

"So Lloyd," Colette started. "Tell me again, why did you decide to become a priest?" she asked sweetly.

"Don't really know, it just kinda came to me," Lloyd lied. He wasn't training to become a priest, he was her guardian angel, but he couldn't let her know that. "Then again, maybe it was a message from the Goddess Martel, being found by the head priestess, and grand mother of the Chosen."

"Yeah!" Colette agreed. "You know Lloyd, I'm really glad to have met you," she said with a smile as a slight blush swept across her face.

"Yeah, me too," Lloyd agreed as he smiled at the girl.

They came close to the village entrance, off to the side stood Dirk's house, with the large pin made for Noishe. On the other side of the open gates was the rest of the village.

"Lloyd? Are going to see Mr. Dirk again?" Colette asked.

"Yeah! I promised I would help him today," Lloyd answered with a grin.

"Oh, ok," Colette said quietly. Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"Colette, is ev-" Lloyd was cut off as Colette gave him the softest of kisses on his cheek before darting off into the village with a deep blush on her face, her embarrassment causing her not to look back.

"Bye Lloyd!" she called out from a distance, but the boy was frozen to the ground, his feet wouldn't move. A blush spread across his face as he moved a hand to the spot where Colette had kissed him.

'_Did Colette...just kiss me?' _he asked himself. In the back of his head he heard the goddess giggling. A loud bark brought Lloyd back to reality, causing him to realise that the shock caused him to release his wings. "Thank Martel she didn't look back," he said as he hid his wings again, and he continued to Dirk's, where Noishe was waiting for him.

As he approached the small house, he saw Dirk cutting firewood on the side. The dwarf was about as tall as Lloyd was, and was tanned. He had brown hair and a matching brown beard. He wore a vest and dark pants.

"Ello Lloyd," Dirk greeted with a heavy accent. "Ya ready to start?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd said with a grin.

* * *

"It...can't be. Lloyd?" a blue haired man said as he lowered his binoculars. The man had green eyes, and wore gold and blue armor and white pants under his blue cloak. From his lookout atop a cliff side overlooking the village, he watched Lloyd hid his wings.

'_Now I get it, Martel sent Lloyd to look after the Chosen,' _he said to himself. "If I tell Kratos about this, he'll show up immediately to get Lloyd, and if I tell Yggdrasill, he'll send the Desians," he thought out loud.

"Lord Yuan?" a voice said behind him. Yuan turned around to see a man with light green hair. The figure wore a red vest over a golden chest plate. His vest cut off to the sides over his black pants. He had red eyes, with an eye-patch over one of them. He had a cannon built onto one of his arms.

"Forcystus? What is it?" Yuan asked.

"That's what I was going to ask you, I recognised your mana signature," Forcystus said.

"I'm here on Llord Yggdrasill's orders," Yuan answered.

"Checking up on his precious Chosen?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Nothing new to report," Yuan lied. '_Martel sent Lloyd for a reason, best not mess with it,' _he reassured himself as he teleported away.

* * *

"Grandmother, Father! I'm home!" Colette announced as she walked into her home. She went up the stairs and saw Phaidra relaxing on her bed. "Grandmother?" she asked.

"hmm, oh yes Colette?" Phaidra said as she sa up straight and motioned for Colette to sit down next to her.

"Grandmother, how do you get a boy to like you?" Colette asked nervously as she sat down next to Phaidra.

"You, have a crush on someone?" Phaidra asked. The priestess had conflicted feelings about this, on one side, her grand daughter was growing up, but on the other, she was the Chosen.

"Yeah," Colette said quietly.

"Well, who's the lucky boy?" Phaidra asked with a smile.

"..." Colette mumbled quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Lloyd," Colette repeated in a whispered. The girl's answer washed all fear from Phaidra's mind. Colette was supposed to become an angel and go to heaven, meaning she would have to leave all of her earthly attachments behind. But Lloyd wasn't an earthly attachment, he was an angel sent from heaven to guide her there.

"Oh! My sweet little Colette is growing up so fast!" Phaidra giggled as she embraced the young Chosen.

"Grandmother!" Colette protested half-heartedly. "Grandmother, you're embarrassing me," she said with a giggle. When she was released, she locked her eyes with Phaidra's. "Does this mean you approve?"

"Of course it does! Oh, just wait till I tell Frank about this," Phaidra answered. Colette's eyes glowed with happiness as she nodded.

* * *

Yuan walked before Yggdrasill. Next to him was Kratos, who looked like he had died, but still breathed. The loss of his son left him as grim as the dead. He practically lost his soul that day.

"Yuan, anything to report?" Yggdrasill asked from atop his throne.

"Not in present company," Yuan muttered as he eyed Kratos. Yggdrasill nodded.

"Kratos, I have a new mission for you," Yggdrasill said to the silent red head. "I need to to continue searching for the Renegade Base."

"As you wish, Lord Yggdrasill," Kratos muttered as he teleported away.

"Very well Yuan, what have you found? Is Martel's Vessel in danger?" Yggdrasill asked.

"No, I found Lloyd," Yuan answered.

"What!? Where?" Yggdrasill asked as shock spread across his face.

"He's with the Chosen," Yuan answered.

A smirk appeared on Yggdrasill's face as he began to chuckle. "So it seems that Martel is certain this vessel will work, especially if she sends her servant to watch after her. Very well, Yuan, you have no more need to check in on her, I believe the situation is under control. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Lord Yggrasill," Yuan said as he teleported away as well.

'_We finally found you Lloyd,' _Yggdrasill said to himself with a chuckle.

* * *

Later that night, Lloyd lay in Noishe's pin, curled up next to the large dog. For some reason he couldn't sleep, and he had no idea why. What made the matter worse, his insides were killing him. It was as if he swallowed a box of burning nails.

He rolled around uncomfortably, trying to ease the pain. Then suddenly, it stopped, and his vision started to blur in and out of focus, as if trying to adjust itself.

"Lloyd!" a hushed whisper said. Lloyd flinched, he recognised that voice, it has been years since he heard it, but he still remembered it.

"Uncle Yuan?" Lloyd whispered as he turned around. Just as he thought, Yuan stood outside the pin.

"Lloyd! What are you doing here!? You run off on us without so much as a word? For five years?" Yuan berated the boy.

"Sorry Uncle Yuan, but I had no choice," Lloyd responded.

"What are you talknig about?" Yuan asked.

"Lady Martel asked a very special favor of me, she was practically begging, I couldn't refuse!" Lloyd responded. Yuan was taken aback.

"What did she ask of you?"

"She said, the Great Seed, is dying. If she is forced to leave it one more time into the body of another Chosen, then it will die."

"So she sent you here, to protect the Chosen," Yuan said as he began to understand.

"Yes, she sent me here to keep Colette safe from Cruxis," Lloyd said. Yuan nodded in understanding. "But," Lloyd's voice began to fade. "I don't know how to do that, I don't know what to do! I can't even fight! All I have are my angelic spells, but I can't use them or else everyone will know where I am and what I'm doing!" Lloyd said in frustration.

"Well, I guess we're on the same side," Yuan said with a smile. "I'll tell you what, every other night, meet me outside the church at midnight, I'll teach you how to fight," Yuan said with a smirk.

"R-really!?" Lloyd asked. Yuan nodded, and before he knew it, the young angel embraced him. "Thank you Uncle Yuan! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Shesh! Calm down Lloyd," Yuan muttered.

"Right, sorry. Oh, and Uncle Yuan, before you go," Lloyd started as he noticed Yuan turning to leave. Yuan turned his head to his side to show he was listening. "Don't tell Dad I'm here, ok?"

"Alright, but you owe me one," Yuan said with a chuckle as he vanished.

"Thanks Uncle Yuan, you're the best!" Lloyd said as he sat back down besides Noishe trying to fall asleep. He noticed quickly however, that he still couldn't sleep.

* * *

Hey everybody guess what, Episode 5 of the OVA has been released, and let me tell you, its good!

anyway, heres chapter 3, hope you enjoyed it.

Questions, Comments, suggestions, etc. I'm all ears

ALL FEED BACK WELCOME!!!!

so be a good sport and click the magical review button! ^.^


	4. Chapter 4

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 4**

Lloyd stood patiently outside of the church. The moon was high overhead, and it's rays reflected off the building giving a the area a dim glow. The tree branches swayed and the grass danced as the wind blew through the area. Lloyd's hair swayed as well, but he didn't pay any heed to it.

"Alright, shall we begin," a blue haired man said as he appeared as if from thin air.

"Yes Uncle Yuan!" Lloyd exclaimed happily with a smirk. Yuan smirked back.

"By the way, how many angelic spells do you know Lloyd?" Yuan asked. Lloyd smirked.

"Actually, I'm not really sure, they just kinda of come to me," Lloyd addmitted with a grin. Yuan sighed.

"But you can sense mana and control it, right?" Yuan asked.

"Yeah!" Lloyd answered with a nod.

"Good, then we don't need to worry about that right now," Yuan said as he reached into his wing pack. He pulled out a wooden sword and tossed it to Lloyd. "Now, try to hit me with that sword," Yuan instructed.

"Um, ok?" Lloyd responded with a confused look on his face. He rushed Yuan who side stepped to avoid Lloyd's first swing. He ducked to avoid the second, and side stepped again for the third.

"That's enough. Lloyd, your way off balance, and your attacks sloppy and wild. You wouldn't last a minute against another swordsman like this," Yuan explained. "How about, we forget about swordsmanship for now, and focus on basic spells?" Yuan asked with a sigh.

Lloyd nodded hesitantly, not all that eager to give up on swordsmanship so quickly. He approached Yuan never the less and returned the wooden sword. "Let's start off simple, how about a fireball. Try to form a fireball in your hands," Yuan instructed. After a few tries and some advice from Yuan, Lloyd managed to create a perfect fireball in the palm of his hand.

A few hours later, when The training was almost completed for the night. They stopped the magic exercises. Lloyd managed to perfect some of the basic spells, such as fireball and stone edge, but the effort left him with little energy. He collapsed onto the ground, and Yuan sat beside him.

"You did well Lloyd, better than i expected you to do," The elder angel admitted. Lloyd grinned at this, but his smile soon faded.

"Uncle Yuan?" he asked.

"Yes Lloyd?" Yuan replied as he looked at the young angel.

Lloyd hesitated before speaking again. "Why can't I sleep anymore?"

Yuan looked away, this wasn't his place to talk about it, it was Kratos's, but it wasn't an option. "You can't sleep anymore," Yuan started, looking for the right way to put it. "Because your body is growing, it's maturing."

"So I can't sleep anymore?"

"For now, yes, but I'm sure the ability will return, once the growing is done."

"Will I lose anything else?" Lloyd asked in a scared tone.

Yuan shifted his gaze to the ground before answering. "I don't know Lloyd, unlike the rest of us, you were born with your wings, we really don't know what to expect," Yuan answered. Then turned and placed a hand on the boy"s shoulder. "Just remember though, no matter what happens, I'm proud of you, and your father would be to."

"Thanks Uncle Yuan," Lloyd said with smirk. With that, Yuan dismissed his godson from training for the night and left, as Lloyd made his way back to the village.

* * *

Colette sat in her bed, she was shifting uncomfortably. '_Lloyd didn't come home again,' _she thought to herself. Worry and anxiety built up within her. She knew that Lloyd often stayed at Mr. Dirk's place, which she was often jealous of the dwarf for. However, today she knew that he wasn't at the dwarf's home, because Lloyd was home just before everyone else went to sleep. '_What if he got hurt? What if he got captured by the Desians?' _she thought as she cluched onto her stuffed bear that she had since she was a little girl. '_What if he...' _her thoughts were cut off as she heard the faint sound of the front door opening.

She knew it wasn't her father or her grandmother, because they had both already gone to sleep. She quickly, but quietly got out of bed and tried to make her way to the hall way without making too much noise. "Lloyd!" Colette whispered loudly when she saw the boy approaching up the stairs on his way to his room that was built onto the house for him.

Lloyd turned to face the blond. She was dressed up in her pajamas. "Colette? What are you still doing up?" He asked in a whisper.

"I was worried about you, you didn't come back home," she started.

"Ah, don't worry about me, I'm fine, go back and get some sleep, alright?" Lloyd suggested with a smirk.

"Alright," Colette agreed in a low voice. "Good night Lloyd!" she said with a large smile before slipping back into her room. '_I'm gonna follow him next time,' _she told herself as she began to finally fall asleep.

Lloyd sighed as he lay down on his bed. The soft bed felt good, and even though he had recently lost the ability to sleep, he found it quick relaxing. '_I hope I didn't worry Colette too much,' _he told himself as he realised he left without saying anything to anyone. He felt bad that it was his fault for keeping her up.

Lloyd released those thoughts from his mind as he released another sigh. That was the past, he has to focus on the present and the future, so he would have to come up with a decent explanation for his disappearances every other night.

The boy sat up and closed his eyes as he focused his conscienceness into the deepest parts of his mind, the part that he always went to when he needed help or guidance.

_"Lady Martel?" _Lloyd asked telepathically to the goddess.

_"Yes Lloyd?" _The goddess's voice replied. This was the manner in which they would speak to each other, and when Martel would teach Lloyd something, she would pull the boy's full conscience into her own, making them meet face to face in their minds.

Lloyd was the only person that Martel could contact which was still a mystery to Lloyd as well as the rest of Cruxis. Martel seemed to know why, but she never found an instance where it needed to be known.

_"I need your guidance," _Lloyd said. "_How can i try with Uncle Yuan, and keep Colette from worrying about me at the same time?"_

_"Trust your heart Lloyd," _Martel answered. "_This is something you must figure out on your own." _

Lloyd sighed as the quick conversation came to a close. '_Man, usually Lady Martel would always be able to help me out, why is she making me work this one out by myself?' _he thought to himself as he lay on his bed.

However, as he expected, he wasn't sleepy in the smallest bit. '_As good a time as any to think I suppose,'_he suggested to himself.

* * *

The next morning after everyone had woken up and eaten breakfast, or in Lloyd's case, got up and forced some food down his throat, The two pre-teens made their way to school.

On the way they met up Genis, he was about a head shorter than Colette and wore his usual blue shirt and matching shorts. His silver hair seemed just as wild as Lloyd's spiky brown hair.

As a trio they made their way to the school house, where Genis's older sister, Raine was teaching. They slipped in un-noticed and took their assigned seats just like the rest of the students did. Genis sat in the front row off to the far right, while Colette sat in the very middle of the classroom, and Lloyd in the far left in the back of the room.

Raine walked into the classroom carrying a large bundle of books in one arm and her staff in the other. She set her staff up against her desk and dropped the books with a loud thud onto the desk. She wore her usual orange coat over her white shirt and black pants. Her hair was silver just like her brother, and they had the same color eyes.

"Ok class, seeing as how the Chosen's birthday is this friday, I've decided that this week is going to focus on the Goddess Martel, the angels that serve under her, The Angelic Language, The Journey of Regeneration, and the Desians," Raine declared. There were a series of groans from the students, and some of them quivered at the mention of the Desians. "I think it's only fair, considering in a few years, Colette," Raine said as she motioned to Colette. "Will have to go on a journey to seal the Desians and regenerate the world," She finished.

Colette just smiled as Raine continued to argue with the class. She eventually won and began a lecture on the Goddess Martel.

Lloyd slumped back in his seat, already more eager than usual to get out. '_Here we go again,' _he told himself. It was the same every year for Colette's birthday week. They always went over the same stuff, stuff that Lloyd knew since he could talk.

The whole class, with the exceptions of Genis and Colette were extremely grateful when the church bells rang, signifiying it was time for lunch. The class practically raced outside. Genis and Colette just barely managed to meet up with Lloyd before he shot out of the classroom.

"Gee Lloyd," Genis started. "For a Priest to be, you certainly don't care much for the Goddess Martel."

"It's not that I don't care, I mean of course I care," Lloyd started in his defence. "It's just that everyone at the church drills me on this stuff almost everyday," he lied. In truth, they always tried to pry more information from him.

As the class was once again usured back into the classroom,they retook their seats to see Professor Raine writing something different on the board.

"Now, for the rest of the day, we'll be covering the language of the angels, the Angelic Language," Raine explained. Ignoring the disapproval of the ungrateful class, she proceeded to write the basics of the language on the board.

"According to the scriptures left by the angels, they all speak this language, and only use our own when talking to those who don't know it well enough," Raine said as she continued to write on the board. "Also, they are able to manipulate the mana around them through use of this language."

Near the end of class, Raine gave one last assignment. "Now, try to reflect on everything you've learned today," she started as everyone reached for their paper and writting utencils. "However, it has to be written in the Angelic Language, remember, this is graded on effort, so do your best!" she instructed.

Genis was having a panic attack, he learned alot during the course of the day, but he wasn't comfortable with this language.

Colette shifted in her seat. She a good amount of the Angelic Language, more than most people in the village, but to say she was good at writing it rather than speaking it was a totally different story. She turned back to look at Lloyd to see how he was doing, but all she saw was him writting on his paper at an incredible speed. Soon others looked back towards him as well.

'_This is too easy,' _Lloyd thought to himself with a smirk. The Angelic Language was his primary language, and having spent so much time listening to it in Welgaia and having to translate it into the common language in the church so often, it pretty much became a habit. Within moments, he filled up his whole sheet of paper.

He looked up and saw the whole class staring at him in awe. He smirked and gave a weak wave with one hand whicle the other scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hey guys," he managed to say.

"Let me see this Lloyd," Raine said as she snatched the paper from the boy. She scanned over the paper and in seconds her eyes went wide. "Lloyd, this, this is incredible! Who would have thought that you knew the Angelic Language so well?"

"Ah, well," Lloyd tried to speak, but his words froze in his mouth. "The priests make me practice it all the time," he half lied. "So I guess it's only natural that I got the hang of it."

Raine continued to praise the paper as she walked back to her desk to translate it. '_This is going to a long week,' _Lloyd thought to himself with a sigh.

* * *

**end of chapter four, so....... tell me what you think!**

**Thanks ^.^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Tales of Angels**

**Chapter 5**

Lloyd knew it was going to be a long week, and unfortunately for him it was. The week had not only nearly blown his cover several times, but he had to sit there and watch, as Colette was devastated on her birthday. He was currently taking out his frustration on a tree in the forest just outside of the village near the church. He swung the stick he found at the tree, using it like a sword as he thought about earlier today.

* * *

_The afternoon sun shone through the windows, illuminating the room with a mellow gleam as the light reflected off of the stone walls and wooden floors._

_Lloyd, along with Phiadra, Frank, and the priests stood in a room with Colette. The young Chosen stood in front of the alter with a confused expression on her face. The two priests stood in front of her. Frank and Phiadra stood behind Colette. Lloyd stood up against the wall._

_Because of his "duties" to the church, he had to be present, but he couldn't be with the Brunels because they weren't family by blood. Lloyd's face was twisted with emotion as he stood there and was forced to listen to everything the priests had to say._

_"Now Chosen," one of the priests started. "As it is your tenth birthday, it's our duty to tell you the true purpose of the Journey of Regeneration."_

_Colette tilted her head to the side in confusion. Lloyd clenched his hands into fists and forced himself to stay quiet as his anger at the priests began to boil. "The true purpose?" he heard Colette ask. Lloyd bit down on his lower lip to calm himself down._

_"Yes," the other priest answered. "You see, the Journey of Regeneration is in fact a quest to restore mana to the world and seal the Desians away, but in order to achieve this the Chosen must go through a series of trials and become an angel."_

_"Then at the end of the journey, you must climb the stairs to Heaven in the Tower of Salvation and there you must give your soul and body to the Goddess Martel so you may be reborn as a true angel and restore Sylvarant," the first priest finished._

_'_Lies!_' Lloyd shouted in his head. As his emotions were quickly reaching there limits, he could do nothing but sit there and watch._

_"I-I don't understand. So, at the end of my journey, I must die?" Colette asked fearfully._

_Both priests nodded solemnly, causing the small girl's eyes to start watering. Colette turned and ran to her father and grandmother as she began to cry._

_That was it for Lloyd he slammed his fist against the wall before walking out of the room and into the hall._

Lloyd took another slash at the tree as he vented his anger out. '_How could they do that to her!_' Lloyd asked himself. '_They had no right to tell her! Especially not on her birthday!_' He continued his assaults on the tree until he dropped to hiss knees. He reached over his shoulders to pull a feather from one of the luminescent blue wings that protruded from his back.

He held the blue feather in front of his face. '_Funny, one of these almost blew my cover_,' he mused to himself.

_Lloyd opened the door to the study and slammed the door behind him. The shelves covering the walls were filled with books. The books varied in color, size, weight, and in some cases language._

_When he slammed the door shut, the force caused the shelves to rumble, but luckily they didn't fall. Lloyd let loose his frustration as his wings practically burst from his back. The two luminescent wings glistened with a beautiful blue hue._

_Lloyd's angelic hearing allowed him to pick up the small pitter-patter of shoes down the hall. He recognized the sound of the shoes and so he didn't even bother to try and hide his wings as he heard the door open._

_"Lloyd?" one of the priests' voices called to him. Lloyd turned around to see the two priests adverting their eyes from him. "Did we do something to upset you?"_

_"Yes," Lloyd answered. "Why did you tell her!" he asked._

_"Because she needed to kn-," the priest started before he was cut off._

_"I know she needed to know, but why tell her today!" Lloyd nearly shouted. Unknown to him, Phiadra slipped into the room._

_"But what difference does the day ma-" the other priest tried to say._

_"Today is her birthday!" Lloyd yelled._

_"Lloyd! Calm down," Phiadra instructed as she plucked one of the luminescent feathers off of the boy's wings. The prick made Lloyd jump and he instantly hid his wings to prevent further disturbances to them. "I'm not happy with the way they decided to do things either, but what's done, is done," Phiadra said as she held the blue feather up to her face._

_The sound of the door knob turning made everyone freeze. Phiadra quickly dropped the feather as the door began to open. Lloyd's eyes followed the feather as it slowly descended to the ground. "Grandmother?" he heard Colette's voice ask, and suddenly he became as cold as ice with fear._

_Just as Colette appeared in the doorway, the feather dissipated against the floorboards. "Oh! Hi Lloyd!" Colette said as she forced a smile for the boy._

_"Oh! Hey Colette!" Lloyd responded with a forced smile as well. 'Did she see it?' he asked himself, hoping she didn't._

_"Come on Colette, let's go," Phiadra said to get her grand daughter's attention. "We still have the village's festival to go to," she reminded the girl._

_"Oh yeah! That's right! Bye Lloyd!" Colette said as she left with her grand mother. Everyone, including Lloyd could tell she was struggling to stay optimistic._

With one more swing, the mighty stick that Lloyd had been using snapped in half. Still venting his frustration, Lloyd picked up the other half of the stick and began to attack the tree with both halves.

Unknown to Lloyd, Yuan stood on a large branch a good distance away from the young angel and watched him. He had been keeping a close eye on his god son, if not for his sake, then for Kratos. He watched Lloyd pick up the second half of the stick and watched as he went back at his foe.

"That's it!" he said as he watched Lloyd's fighting style. Yuan jumped down from his perch and approached the boy.

"Lloyd!" he said to get the young angel's attention. Lloyd turned to see Yuan.

"Uncle Yuan?" Lloyd asked. "What are you doing here?"

"It's better to kill two birds with one stone," Yuan started as he pulled a wooden staff out of his wing pack. "So, come get me!" he commanded. Lloyd smirked and nodded before going to attack Yuan.

* * *

Colette sat on her bed with Phiadra next to her. "Grandmother? Why isn't Lloyd allowed at the village festivals?" the girl asked.

"Well, because technically, Lloyd is an outsider to the village," Phiadra answered.

"So? What does that have to do with anything? I see the way the village treats him! They hate him, they scowl at him, and I bet if he wasn't with me they'd attack him!" Colette said.

"Colette..." Phiadra said in disbelief.

"I want to know why! Why do they hate Lloyd so much?" Colette pleaded. "Cause, maybe, if I knew, I could help him," Colette said as her voice became quieter and quieter, and the blush on her cheeks grew darker.

"I want to be strong for Lloyd, he does so much, and suffers a lot, but he doesn't show it. I-I want to be strong for Lloyd, but..." Colette said as she looked out her window towards the sky. The golden color cast from the setting fun mixed with the blue of the sky, causing a multitude of colors to appear. "But I don't know if I can be. I don't want to be the Chosen!" Colette exclaimed as she gave Phiadra a pleading look.

"Colette! How could you say such a thing?" Phiadra asked the girl, even though she wished her grand daughter wasn't the Chosen. "It's a blessing to be the Chosen, and just so you know, do you want to know why Lloyd decided to train as a priest?"

Colette nodded, so Phiadra continued. "Lloyd decided to train as a priest so he would be able to accompany you on your journey. I know how you stay up every other night waiting for him to come home, but you don't have to worry. He's doing his best to train for the Journey of Regeneration."

"R-Really?" Colette asked as her eyes began to tear up. Phiadra nodded. "But if that's so, why does the village still hate him?"

"I don't really know," Phiadra answered. "I know that the mayor thinks he secretly works with the Desians, but nobody agrees with that crazy man."

"When we were at the church, Lloyd seemed really upset about something, it made me sad, and then they said... they said... that I'd..." Colette couldn't bring herself to say it. "But then you said you'd go and check up on him."

"What was wrong grand mother?" Colette asked as she looked at Phiadra.

"Lloyd was trying to protect you from what you heard today, he tried so hard so that they didn't tell you earlier, so he was mad that they told you on your birthday," Phiadra answered.

Colette smiled. "There's also something else," Colette said as she remembered something. "I remember seeing something when I saw you guys in the study. It was bright, and blue, and really pretty!" Colette said as she smiled at the thought. "It looked like a feather."

Phiadra internally froze. '_She saw Lloyd's feather!_'

"I hope I get to see a feather as pretty as that one again," Colette said dreamily with a sigh. "It must have been a pretty bird."

Phiadra relaxed again as she realized Colette hadn't recognized the feather as an angel feather.

* * *

"Well Lloyd," Yuan said with a smirk. "Who would have thought that two swords were for you. I don't think in any of my years working with your father I have seen anyone fight with two swords, at least not professionally.

"There's always a first," Lloyd said with a smirk as he wiped the sweat off his face. "Uncle Yuan, thanks, this really helped."

Yuan smirked. "Who said we were done? Now, come at me!" he ordered. Lloyd followed his orders and attacked again.

* * *

**end of chapter five...**

**hope you enjoyed it!**

**episode six in the ova (ToS Tethe'alla ep. 2) came out yesterday, so make sure you go see it!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 6**

Almost six years had past since Colette learned the truth about the end of her journey. As much as Lloyd had strived to protect her from the truth, the priests told her anyway. Over time she accepted the truth, and continued to strive to do the best that she could.

The Chosen had gotten very good at forcing smiles, so good that unless you were one of her close friends, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a real smile and a fake one. Lloyd became really good at telling the difference.

As Colette grew older, she hid her jealousy of the other girls who took their chance to live full lives for granted. As far as she believed, her birthday tomorrow, would be her last. The blond also felt a tinge of sadness in her heart, some of the girls in their class had a crush on her Lloyd, and they made it plainly obvious. In fact, last year, during the Christmas Party, they tried to catch Lloyd the mistletoe that they strategically hid across the classroom.

'_Those girls are a lot prettier than I am, and they get to live full happy lives,' _Colette thought to herself as she was walking home from school. '_I hope one of them makes him happy,' _she hoped with a sigh. It broke her heart knowing she'd have to say good-bye to the boy she loved.

"Grand mother? Father? Lloyd? I'm home!" Colette said as she entered her home. The place seemed completely empty. Colette walked upstairs to her room and spotted her father in his room. The man looked troubled, almost on the verge of tears.

"Hi father!" Colette said happily with a smile. "Is everything alright?" she asked as she sat down next to him.

Frank turned towards his daughter, who beamed at him. Before the girl knew it, Frank had pulled her into a tight embrace. "Colette," he spoke as he forced back the tears that were gathering in his eyes. "I-I'm fine," he chocked out.

Colette pouted, she didn't believe him. "Father, where is grand mother, and Lloyd?"

Frank blinked before answering. "They're at the church, mom said something about a ceremony for Lloyd.

"Lloyd finished his studies!" Colette suddenly asked. Frank gave her a confused nod. '_I was actually kind of hoping that he wouldn't finish so early, then he would have to stay here in the village were it's safe,' _Colette said to herself, but she smiled never the less.

* * *

Phiadra stood before Lloyd in front of the alter. The other two priests stood at her sides. "I Phiadra Brunel, as head priestess of this church, hereby decree, that in the name of the Goddess Martel, that Lloyd be recognized as a priest of the Church of Martel," Phiadra spoke loud and clearly as she placed a new scarf around the angel's neck.

It was the same as the one he wore before, but this one had a different design in the cloth. It was similar to the sashes that the priests commonly wore, but because Phiadra knew Lloyd better than that, she knitted him a scarf instead.

The other two priests said their parts, before holding a bowl of holy water before Lloyd. Lloyd stuck two fingers into the bowl, and then touched his forehead, chest, left breast, and then his right breast.

The four priests then joined together in prayer. "Great goddess, we pray that you give Colette a safe journey, and that the guardian angel that you have blessed us with may keep her safe as she releases the seals to be reborn as an angel..." one of the priests prayed.

* * *

"But Lord Yggrassil, isn't it Yuan's turn to guide the Cho-" Kratos said.

"Yuan is busy," Yggrassil interrupted. "Now then, the Chosen is located in the small village of Iselia, nearby Forcystus's ranch," Yggrassil instructed.

"Very well then, I shall leave at once," Kratos said as he turned and left Yggrassil's throne room. Kratos wore his mercenary outfit as he planed to descend to the world of Sylvarant. The purple cloth cut off at his arms, and had a diamond shape gap over his chest. The matching purple pants had no special designs on them. The cape he wore covered down his shoulders, and formed a sparrow like tail on his back. He wore two belts, one to hold his pants up, and the other to hold his sword.

"You'll thank me for this," Yggrassil muttered as he watched his seraph exit. Then he turned his attention back to the blond angel to his side. "All right Remiel, so when you descend to the church to give the Chosen her Cruxis crystal, do what ever it takes to keep her from straying from her path of world regeneration. I don't care how uncomfortable it makes you feel, just get it done!" he instructed to Remiel.

Kratos walked back towards the room that he lived in. It was dark, even when the lights were on. There was a large bookcase against the wall. A desk with a small light stood close to the shelf. A carpet covered most of the stone floor. A neatly made bed sat against the wall adjacent from the larger wardrobe.

The seraph walked over to the desk and took a quick look at the map he had sprawled across it. '_So the next Chosen is from Iselia?' _he asked himself as he gazed at the map. Then he went wide-eyed as he remembered the spot where his son disappeared. "Could he?" he asked out loud.

The small trace of hope on his face disappeared instantly as he remembered the scene that he found. '_No, its impossible,' _he told himself. Kratos gathered the rest of his belongings before leaving Welgaia, the holy city of Derris Kharlan.

Once he appeared on the land in front of where the Tower of Salvation stood, invisible for the moment, he unfurled his wings and took off into the sky.

* * *

The next morning Colette woke up, and looked out her window. The morning sun washed over the horizon like purifying light, banishing the darkness. It looked like every other ordinary day, but today wasn't an ordinary day.

"Happy birthday me," she said to herself quietly as she got up, changed out of her night gown, washed and got dressed for the day. '_Today's the day,' _she thought to herself. '_The day I receive the oracle, and begin the Journey of Regeneration.' _A cold shiver ran down her spine as the realization hit her.

Colette shook off her fear and proceeded out the door with a smile on her face. She had to be strong today; everyone was counting on her right? She couldn't let them down. She took a reassuring glance into the room next to hers, only to find the person who the room belong to, absent. '_Lloyd is never home,' _Colette said to herself sadly.

She turned her head back forward where she jumped.

"Good morning birthday girl," Lloyd said with a smile as he leaned up against the wall. Colette smiled at seeing the boy.

"Good morning Lloyd," Colette responded with a genuine smile. '_It's for people like Lloyd that I have to do this. Lloyd...' _her thoughts trailed off as a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Hey," Lloyd spoke, breaking Colette from her thoughts. "I know how pressured you must feel, but don't it get to you. Remember, today is your birthday too."

Lloyd just hit a serious emotional barrier of hers. Tears welled up in the girl's eyes as she clasped the brunette in a tight embrace. "Thank you Lloyd," Colette sobbed into his robe. "Thank you so much," she continued.

Lloyd responded by hugging her back and running a hand down her long blond hair. "Hey, it's alright," Lloyd spoke. "That's what friends are for."

'_Friends? Still just friends... I guess i should be thankful for that much,' _Colette thought to herself.

"Just _friends? Are you sure it isn't more than that?" _the goddess's voice said in the boy's head.

"_What do you mean Lady Martel?" _Lloyd asked.

"_Oh nothing," _Martel responded with a giggle, leaving Lloyd confused, but he didn't let it show.

Colette pulled out of the hug, and then noticed the new ribbon like scarf draped from collar. "Lloyd! You finished your studies!" she beamed.

"Yeah, now I can go with you on your journey, that is, if it's alright with you," Lloyd replied.

"Oh, of course it is!" she said sweetly. '_But it might be too dangerous for you Lloyd.' _

As the two descended down the stairs of the Brunel house, Phiadra and Frank stood at the table with Colette's favorite breakfast already laid out.

"Father! Grandmother! Did you two make this for me?" the girl asked. The two nodded and smiled. "Thank you!" she exclaimed as she sat down to eat. Lloyd sat down as well.

As she ate she watched Lloyd out of the corner of her eye. She noticed, over the years that Lloyd had begun to eat less and less, granted he didn't eat much to begin with. It was her Grandmother, who originally noticed this, but to where it would be considered an insult to not eat much of a large meal, Phiadra never expressed any signs of an insult, so neither did she.

Once Colette had eaten her fill, she and Lloyd left the house were a large group of villagers had been waiting for the Chosen.

"Good luck Chosen!" some said to her. "May Martel look after you," others said.

"Thank you, I'll do my best," Colette replied to everyone as she tried to make her way through the mob. It saddened her to see that none of the villagers cared that it was her birthday, but then when she thought about it, she figured that the oracle was more important.

She grasped Lloyd's arm so that she could keep him with her in the mob, and to try and prevent them from throwing him out of the way. More than once Colette had seen the villagers act hostile around Lloyd, and no matter what she said or did, she could see the distrust in their eyes. But she smiled to each and every one of the villagers regardless.

"Well Colette, I guess we should make our way to the church now," Lloyd suggested.

"Yes, lets go," Colette agreed with a nod.

* * *

Kratos landed, just a mile away from where the Chosen was supposed to receive the oracle. The seraph hid his wings and began to proceed on foot. Suddenly he stopped, and turned to his side. It was the same spot where he lost Noishe and Lloyd.

He shook his head and continued to move along. No point on reminiscing on the past. He eventually came to the church; once there he studied the round dome like structure of the buildings roof. "That's where Remiel will descend then," he thought out loud. '_Now I wait,' _he said to himself as he waited just out of sight from the building.

As the two teens were walking towards the church, Lloyd's instincts had him on guard. '_Something doesn't seem right,' _he said to himself. The young angel began to survey the surrounding area, on alert for anything out of the ordinary.

Then it hit him as he felt a huge presence of mana, it was familiar though even though he hadn't felt it in over twelve years. '_Dad!' _he yelled in his head. A tight grip on his shoulder brought him back to reality as he shifted his gaze to the blond clasping his arm for support.

The girl seemed scared out of her wits, as if she could feel his apprehension. he willed himself to calm down, but made absolutely certain to hide his own mana signature.

The two of them approached the church and walked up the steps. They entered the building and took the center passage. The two curved halls to the side circled all the way around the building before meeting each other in back. The two ascended up the stairs into the main room of the church. The alter stood before them.

"Well, this is it," Lloyd said as the two priests approached the two teens. Colette only nodded; she cleared her face of all fear, but still clung to Lloyd's arm.

A few moments later, a bright light flashed through the sky as a beam of white light connected the church with the heavens above. A small golden ball of light traveled down the pillar until it hovered a few yards above the stone floor. Another flash of light ensued, and when it diminished, a figure appeared.

The figure had blond hair and blue eyes. He wore an elaborately designed green robe with blue sleeves and sides. The robe had gold trimmings lacing all over, giving it beautiful designs. Protruding from his back were two appendages. The two wings had beautiful white feathers.

The two wings flapped calmly to keep the angel airborne. "I am Remiel," the figure spoke. "An Angel of Cruxis, here to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the next chosen."

Colette slowly released Lloyd's arm and stepped forward, eyeing the angel with awe. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world," Remiel continued. Colette nodded, and Remiel lifted a hand, in it was a shining red crystal. The crystal lifted from the angel's hand and drifted over to Colette.

In a flash of light, the crystal attached itself at the base of her neck on a beautiful golden necklace. "From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration,' Remiel said.

"We of Cruxis bless this event," Remiel started as he pulled his arm back to his side. "And hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant,' Remiel continued as he moved his arm towards a window, where off in the distance, a large tower shimmered into existence.

_'Cheap parlor trick,' _Lloyd said to himself as he watched the tower appear.

"Chosen of Regeneration, Colette! Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands," Remiel commanded.

"As the Chosen, I humbly accept this task," Colette said as she closed her eyes and held her hands up to her face in prayer.

"Very good, we of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated," the angel added.

"Thank you. I swear on my life that I will regenerate the world," Colette said.

"First head south to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land," Remiel instructed.

"Yes, Lord Remiel," Colette answered.

"We shall meet again at the next seal, Chosen of Mana," Remiel said as he became enveloped in light.

"Wait!" Colette sudden yelped, but it was too late, Remiel departed leaving no sign of his existence except for a few feathers that drifted slowly through the air before dissolving on the floor.

Lloyd turned to Colette, and the priests approached as well. He was about to say something, but the faint sound echoed in his sensitive ears. It sounded like several dozen quick thumps, followed by a quieter whistling noise.

Instinctively, he grabbed Colette, and bent over her protectively. Colette was utterly confused until she heard the distinct sounds of metal clattering against stone and flesh. The two teens looked back and saw the two priests standing over them.

"Chosen!" One of them struggled to say. "You must get to safety, and regenerate the world," he fought for every word before they fell to the ground dead. Dozens of arrows protruded from their backs, splattering blood across their robes.

"No!" Colette screamed as she saw the sight. Then she shifted her attention as she saw several armored figures run into the church. They wore blue uniforms, with leather and metal armor over it. They all had similar iron helmets that hid the upper parts of their faces. They were all equipped with large broad swords.

"Where is she?" one of the armed combatants asked.

"Find her!" another said.

Lloyd moved Colette behind the alter. "Stay here, and don't look," Lloyd instructed. Colette shook her head in disagreement, but the fear and shock was obviously apparent on her face. She grabbed the two disked shaped bladed weapons that she carried, thankful that her grandmother had taught her how to use them.

"No Lloyd," Colette chocked out. But the swordsman had already stood.

"Hey, looks like we missed one," One of the armed assailants said with a chuckle.

'_Sacred powers,' _Lloyd began to chant in his head. Desians, Renegades, to him it didn't matter; he wouldn't let them touch the Chosen. '_I call upon the servant of the Holy Spirit to- What!'_ until he saw the attackers drop dead where they stood, pools of blood oozing from their bodies.

Amidst the chaos, a single figure stood. He wore purple clothes, and had a long sword in his hand. His red hair covered a portion of his face.

'_Dad!' _Lloyd exclaimed to himself.

* * *

**Chapter 6, officially into the main plot...**

**Well, I'm not going to force you, but feedback is appreciated! ^.^**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 7**

** '**_Dad!'_Lloyd kept to himself. Lloyd was both thrilled, and scared to see the man. On one side, he hadn't seen his father in at least a dozen years, but on the other, he was terrified, the seraph was an excellent fighter, and could easily over power Lloyd.

"Are you alright?" Kratos asked as Lloyd turned to help Colette up. "I hope you two are unharmed," Kratos continued.

"Thank you sir," Lloyd said before carefully moving the corpses of the fallen priests.

"Yes, thank you very much for saving us Mr., um," Colette started.

"Kratos, my name is Kratos Aruion. I'm a wandering mercenary. I saw these Desians making their way up here, so I gave chase," Kratos explained.

"Thank you very much for saving us Mr. Kratos," Colette said as she bowed.

"Colette!" a voice said from behind Kratos. The three of them turned to see whom the speaker was.

"Grandmother!" Colette exclaimed as she ran over to and embraced Phiadra.

"Oh Colette, I'm so glad your safe!" Phiadra said as she embraced the blond tighter. "We saw the Desians and feared the worst."

"It's ok grandmother, we were saved by this nice man here," Colette said as she motioned to Kratos.

"Thank you very much kind sir, how may I ever repay you for protecting the Chosen?" Phiadra asked.

"I see, so this is the next Chosen?" Kratos asked. Colette nodded.

"Say Colette, where did Lloyd go?" Phiadra asked the blond in a whisper. Colette blinked for a moment before turning around to look.

"There he is," Colette answered as she spotted the brunette kneeled over near the back of the room. "I'll go get him," she suggested before going after him.

* * *

"_Please Lady Martel, watch after these two," _Lloyd prayed for the two fallen priests after he removed the arrows and laid them on their backs in the back of the room.

"Lloyd?" he heard Colette's voice. The boy didn't respond. She shifted her gaze to the two priests she'd known practically all her life, a dropped to her knees right beside Lloyd. She paid her final respects to the two who had given their lives to protect her.

Lloyd felt someone brush up against his side. He turned to see Colette praying with her hands in front of her face, eyes shut, and a single tear streaking down her cheeks. Lloyd bottled his sorrow up, there would be time for grieving later; right now he had to be on alert in case any more hostiles were in the area, especially with Kratos's arrival.

The boy shifted his gaze back to the two priests. He adverted his eyes, they deserved better than this, they were the closest things to family besides the Brunels that Lloyd had in Iselia. Sure they may have agitated Lloyd here and then, but they were human, it was only natural, and they gave their lives to protect him and Colette. They knew he would have survived the arrows, but they took the hit anyway.

Colette let out a sniffle as she whipped the tears from her eyes. She turned to face the last remaining priest of their church. She noticed Lloyd's expression. She knew Lloyd never openly expressed his sorrow, but with his face contorted like that, she could tell that it felt like a part of him died as well. Lloyd was closer to the priests than she was, a lot closer, he had spent so much time with them during his studies, that is was only natural to see them as family members.

"I'm sorry Lloyd," Colette said as she wrapped her arms around the boy and leaned her head up against his shoulder. Lloyd acknowledged her presence by placing a hand where hers over lapped.

* * *

From where he stood Kratos could see the interaction between the two teens in the back. '_She's really attached to that boy; they'll have to be separated,' _he said to himself.

"So, Kratos," Phiadra spoke to the mercenary. "What brings you to these parts?"

"I'm a traveling mercenary, I saw the Desians and decided to pursue them," Kratos answered. "If you pay me, I'll take on the task of guarding the Chosen on her journey," he suggested.

"We'll talk about that sort of stuff back at the village. Come Colette, Ll-" Phiadra stopped herself. "I'll leave this to you Lloyd," she said as Lloyd turned and gave her a pleading look.

'_Lloyd!' _Kratos shouted to himself. "His name is Lloyd?" Kratos asked casually, hiding his curiosity.

"Yes, he is now the last surviving priest of this church," Phiadra answered.

'_That's not my son, he died a long time ago, besides, he always had his wings out,' _Kratos remembered, the faint hope of his son being alive once again diminished.

* * *

"Are you going to be alright Lloyd?" Colette asked sincerely. Lloyd nodded in response. "Well, alright. Thank you for protecting me Lloyd," Colette said as she gently kissed him on the cheek, before getting up and joining her grandmother. But Lloyd wasn't paying attention.

The two Brunels along with the purple clad mercenary left the church, leaving Lloyd behind. The boy let his tears spill once he felt the presence of the others dissipate. His blue wings flowed from his back and fluttered sadly, mimicking his emotion.

Lloyd gathered the two priests and led them to the graveyard behind the church. He grabbed a shovel and began digging. For what felt like forever he dug, placed the priests in two spare coffins located up against the wall and buried them. He gave a final prayer before turning his attention back to the church.

By the time he walked back in, He found Yuan inside the church, the bodies of the assailants, were gone as well as all traces of their existance.

"Uncle Yuan," Lloyd acknowledged with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Lloyd!" Yuan exclaimed as he turned to face the boy. He saw the teen's wings shimmer as they drooped depressingly. "I'm sorry Lloyd, if I had known, then..." Yuan began.

Lloyd didn't respond. Instead, he walked up paced Yuan, towards the alter, closed the large book on the podium near it, and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry Lloyd," Yuan said quietly as he watched his godson leave. Just before Lloyd headed back to the village, he hid his wings.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Lloyd, a figure almost exactly to the attackers before watched the young angel through a pair of binoculars. The only difference was that this soldier was clad in red instead of blue.

The figure watched intensely as he noted the angel's presence and his shimmering blue wings. Once Lloyd his wings however, he rose and ran off into the woods.

* * *

As Lloyd approached the Village, he saw Genis sneaking off into the trees. Lloyd blinked twice before deciding to follow, in case his friend got in trouble.

Lloyd followed Genis deeper and deeper into the woods until he suddenly stopped. Lloyd watched as Genis crept ahead slowly, checking ahead of him to see if the coast was clear. Then the elf slowly continued.

It was then that Lloyd noticed what was in Genis's hand, and the direction in which he was headed. '_Why is Genis going to the Human Ranch?' _Lloyd asked himself. Reguardless of his own thoughts, Lloyd continued to follow the smaller boy in case he got caught.

* * *

"Grandmother," Colette spoke to Phiadra.

"Yes Colette?" the priestess replied.

"I-I don't want Lloyd to go with me on the journey," the blond mumbled.

"Why?" Phiadra asked. "Is it because of what happened at the church?" she continued when she saw her grand daughter tense up, unable to say the words. Colette slowly nodded her head. "I understand," Phiadra said solemnly.

"That boy," Kratos said startling the Brunels. "Is he your grandson as well?"

"No, but he's as good as," Phiadra answered. A confused look spread across the mercenary's face. "His parents passed away when he was little, so we helped raise him."

"And Chosen," he addressed Colette. The blond turned to face the mercenary. "You seem very close to the boy," he added. Colette blushed, but whether the blush was from embarrassment, or irritancy, he could not tell. '_That boy, this Lloyd, will defiantly be a problem, but-' _Kratos's thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey there's the village!" Colette exclaimed as she pointed to the small village.

* * *

Lloyd was confused, he had followed Genis all the way to the ranch, and now the large metal fortress with large electric fences stood just a dozen or so yards away. Beyond the wires that made the walls, several Desians could be seen, armed with whips as they beat the dozens of humans that they forced to push large boulders around in circles.

But the part that he couldn't understand is why Genis would come all the way out here. Then he saw Genis sneak toward the fence, whistle a quick tune and wait. As the elf waited, he cautiously looked around to make sure he wasn't going to get caught. Lloyd kept himself hidden as he watched another figure walk towards Genis.

This figure was elderly, had gray hair, a large nose, and wrinkles on her face. She wore old, torn clothes, similar to most other prisoners at the human ranches. "Genis, you shouldn't have come," the elderly figure spoke.

"I'm sorry Marble, but I just had to come see you," Genis spoke to Marble. "Here, I made some cookies," Genis said as he handed the cookies to the elderly woman. "Did you see that light? Colette received the oracle!"

"Yes, I saw, soon Sylvarant will be regenerated, and these Desians will be-" Marble said before another voice interrupted.

"Hey you!" the voice said. A Desian began to walk towards Marble.

"Genis run!" she ordered to Genis in a whisper. She turned to face the Desian, as Genis dived into a bush.

"What are you doing over here?" the man said as he gripped his whip in his hand. "I didn't say you could take a break," he continued.

"I'm sorry," Marble spoke loud and clearly.

"You know what, I don't like that tone of yours," the soldier said with a grin. Marble tensed as she watched the Desian pull his whipping arm back.

Lloyd managed to make out a casting circle appear under Genis as he focused his mana. Genis leaped from his hiding spot behind the bush and pointed his weapon, a toy kendama, at the Desian through the wall. "_**Fire Ball**_!" he shouted as he shot three small fireballs at the red armored soldier.

"Huh?" was all the Desian said before getting hit. Genis grinned, but his victory was short lived as more Desians came rushing towards the gate. The gate began to open as the metal hinges let out loud moans of stress.

Lloyd came back to his senses, he had to protect Genis, and enough people that were close to him have been killed already. He placed his hands together and prepared to cast in his head. _'Sacred powers, I call upon the servant of the Holy Spirit of to guide my heart and soul to defend the hopes and dreams of the future, __**Divine Guardian**__!' _Lloyd casted. A casting circle appeared beneath his feet as he poured his will to protect Genis into the spell.

The Desians ran outside of the ranch, turned and then ran towards Genis, who was frozen to the spot in fear. The archers and the group commander stood in the back, and prepared to attack while the swordsmen charged straight toward the boy.

Lloyd's mana mixed together, and condensed up into the shape of a blue sparrow on his shoulder. The bird was shimmering as his mana maintained the birds form., and was obedient to him. Whatever command Lloyd would give the bird, it would follow to the letter. "_Go protect Genis!" _Lloyd commanded the bird. The sparrow quickly rose from Lloyd's shoulder and flew straight towards Genis, leaving small mana trails from the tips of its wings as it soared.

The swordsmen were upon the small elf now, and all had their swords raised, about to strike, when a small luminescent sparrow flew in the middle right over the small boy. It hovered for a millisecond before spreading its wings out, and the swordsmen were flung back as if hit by an invisible force.

"What the?" The commander of the group of Desians said. He was the only mage in the group, and he was preparing his own attack. "Fire!" he commanded to the archers surrounding him.

The Desians all fired their crossbows and sent a hail of arrows towards Genis, who had fallen on his bottom, too scared to get back up. The sparrow flew a foot in front of Genis and folded it's wings over, as if to form a shield. The arrows impacted, and shattered against an invisible barrier a yard in front of the bird. The commander growled before launching three fireballs at the bird. All three of the fireballs collided harmlessly against the barrier.

While all the Desians were in a state of disarray, confused as to what just happened, Lloyd sprung from where he was and rushed to Genis's side.

"L-Lloyd?" Genis managed to speak. He gazed up at the older boy with shock and confusion, the blue sparrow that saved his life, perched on the brunette's shoulder.

"Get up Genis, and get home," Lloyd commanded. Genis nodded, and rose.

"Good luck Lloyd," he said before running back into the woods.

"Quick after him!" a Desian said, and another made his way owards the direction that Genis had left in. With a flick of his arm, Lloyd sent the sparrow at the man, the bird pierced through the man's armor and out through his back like it was nothing. The desian that had begun to follow Genis died instantly.

"Your fight is with me," Lloyd told them.

"Well well well, if it isn't Lloyd _Aurion,' _a new voice said from up above. Lloyd turned to see a man with light green hair, a red jacket covered by golden armor, black pants, and a golden cannon where his right arm should be. He had an eye patch over one of his eyes, and a grin on his face. The figure stood on top of the gate and surveyed the whole engagement.

"It's been a while Lloyd Aurion," the figure continued as he jumped down from the perch he was standing on. He began to approach Lloyd.

'_This is bad, really bad,' _Lloyd said to himself as he heard his name being called. He had to think fast. he looked to the sparrow on his shoulder, it looked back at him and nodded its small head.

The bird rose from his shoulder and charged towards the new comer, while Lloyd turned to take off into the forest. Once Lloyd was back in the forest, the sparrow exploded in a blight flash, temporarily blinding anyone nearby.

Lloyd ran, he ran as fast as he could without using his wings. He couldn't use them; Genis was still in the area, what if he saw? It would blow his cover, and then all hell would ensue.

Lloyd caught up with Genis near the edge of the village, the silver haired boy was still scared, but his heavy breathing also showed hoe tired he was.

"Lloyd, I'm so sorry," he said to the brunette when he approached. "I know I shouldn't have gone near the ranch, it was in violation with the peace treaty, but," he tried to explain.

Lloyd placed a hand on Genis's shoulder. "It's ok Genis, I understand, I would have done the exact same thing," he told the small elf. "Now go home, it's getting late out," Lloyd said as he motioned towards the setting sun. Genis nodded and scampered off.

Once Genis was out of sight, Lloyd released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His muscles ached, his head throbbed, and his hands were shaking. "Huh," he said out loud. '_I haven't used that much mana in a long time, I must be out of shape,_' he joked to himself.

Lloyd tried to take another step, and then froze as pain shot through his foot. '_Must have torn something,' _he concluded before limping back to the village. _'Judging by how much my guardian took out of me, I'm not even going to try healing this,' _he decided. His healing abilities took twice as much mana to use than to summon his guardian.

* * *

"All right then," a man with graying hair said. He had a mustache under his nose, was large in the gut, and had a somewhat stern face. "So Kratos and Raine will guide the Chosen on her journey," he said.

Kratos stood in the back of the room, watching Colette's family members discussing things with him and the mayor that sat at the table as well. "Is that alright with you Chosen?" he heard the mayor ask.

All eyes turned to the blond girl who stood near the window, looking through the glass with worried eyes. "Where's Lloyd?" she asked. Sure, Lloyd may not have come home often, and villagers have often seen him outside at night, further serving the mayor's propaganda about him, but after the events that took place earlier today, the Chosen was worried sick. Ever since they reached the house, the blond had been glued to the window.

"Chosen?" the mayor's voice said again. "Stop worrying about that Desian loving scum, and pay attention!" he said. Colette had to force herself not to growl and grit her teeth at the man, instead she just sighed.

'_A good Chosen does not show anger,' _she reminded herself. "Yes?" she asked as she turned around from the window.

"Sit down Colette," Phiadra offered. She along with her son Frank easily felt the tension that Colette was going through, they were experiencing it themselves, Lloyd was almost like part of the family.

With another sigh, Colette nodded and sat down.

"Now then, as I was saying," the mayor started. "Do you approve of Kratos and Raine being your guardians on the journey?"

"Yes I- Lloyd!" Colette exclaimed as the door opened revealing an exhausted, limping Lloyd. Colette shot up from the seat she just recently sat down in, and watched the boy. Frank and Phiadra also showed concern looks, but they didn't show it as openly as Colette had. The mayor huffed in approval at the boy"s sate, and Kratos showed no emotion to it. "Lloyd, are you ok? What happened?" she asked as Lloyd tried to climb the stairs.

With much effort and time, he made it to the top and disappeared around the corner into his room. Colette was about to follow him, but Kratos caught her sleeve as she tried to pass by. She flashed the mercenary a quick glare as she tried to pull her arm free, but saw it was no use no against him.

"Give him time, he needs rest," the mercenary spoke quietly. The blond reluctantly stopped tugging and stepped back over to her seat.

* * *

"This journey, is going to be hard," Lloyd said quietly to himself as he lay on his bed. Pain coursed through his entire body as the forgotten effects of mana usage returned to him.

'_It must be because I cut off most of my mana flow when I hide my wings,' _he concluded.

"Alright, so it's agreed, Kratos, Raine, you two will accompany Colette on her Journey of World Regeneration," Lloyd heard the mayor finalize.

A minute later, Lloyd heard faint footsteps coming up the stairs. "Lloyd," he heard Colette's voice say. "Are you alright?" she asked as she sat down on the bed next to where he lay, eyes filled with over flowing concern.

* * *

**Chapter 7, complete**

**Comments, questions, reviews, etc. ALL Welcome,**

**so feel free to leave some feedback! **_**^.^**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 8**

"Lloyd?" Colette asked as she sat next to the boy who laid on his bed. "Are you ok?" she continued.

Lloyd managed to shift his face towards the blond girl, and gave her a reassuring grin. "Yeah," he answered. "Just a little tired."

Colette looked the boy over once. "Liar," she stated coldly. "You're covered in scrapes and cuts, and you were limping really badly," Colette informed him. The boy only blinked in response. "Lloyd," she sighed. "What were you doing?"

_'I'm that beat up?' _Lloyd asked himself. '_I noticed my ankle, but I didn't even feel the rest...' _he continued to reflect until his train of thought was interrupted.

"Lloyd!" Colette urged, hints of irritation in her voice, as well as sadness.

"Well after you and Phaidra left with that mercenary, I buried the dead, gave them their final rights, and cleaned up the mess," Lloyd started. "And on my way back, I thought I saw a Desian trying to sneak up on you guys. So I ran after him, got his attention and led him far enough from the road that he get lost."

Colette shifted uneasily. "But that doesn't explain why you're hurt," she said.

"I guess I just wasn't paying attention," Lloyd concluded.

Colette shook her head. "That's just like you Lloyd, putting others before yourself," she said with a smile. "Well, get some sleep Lloyd, we're leaving at noon tomorrow," the blond added as she stood up and straightened out her dress.

Colette walked over to Lloyd's bedroom door and started to close it, but stopped. Lloyd couldn't put his finger on the expression on his best friend's face. Was it fear? Sadness? Regret? A longing for something? He couldn't tell. Before Colette closed his door, she gave the boy a last look over before giving him a big smile, which Lloyd returned with a goofy grin.

'_Sorry Colette, but I don't sleep anymore, and I guess I'm losing my ability to touch things as well,' _Lloyd said to himself when the door closed. He repositioned his body, so he could reach out and feel his injured leg. '_Well, might as well at least try to get this patched up,' _Lloyd thought as he channeled his mana to his hand and placed it over the injured limb.

"_**Heal**_," he said. The mana formed a blue coating over his hand before it flowed into the leg. Lloyd felt the pain dissipate almost immediately. When the injury was fully healed, Lloyd pulled his hand back and flexed it.

"Strange," he thought out loud. "That took almost nothing."

"_Because it was a minor injury," _Martel said through Lloyd's mind.

_"But my guardian practically drained me," _Lloyd replied. _"And it takes a lot less mana than healing techniques," _he added.

_"Because you haven't used any of your angelic mana in so long, your body stored less of it in it's reserves, so when you finally used a technique like your guardian, it drained you because your body forgot about the strains and it wore you out faster," _Martel explained. _"However, since you used your guardian spell and readjusted your body to the strains of using mana, it won't tire you out so fast again."_

_ "Good, I have a feeling I'll need a lot of it," _Lloyd said quietly. He broke the mental connection, and laid his head on his pillow. '_Dad,' _he thought to himself.

"What am I going to do?" Lloyd asked himself.

* * *

Colette finished writing her note, and handed it to Phaidra. "Grand mother, please give this to Lloyd when he wakes up tomorrow," Colette requested.

"Of course Colette, but," Phaidra started. "Why lie to him, let Lloyd go with you," she urged, but Colette just shook her head.

"I-I can't," Colette answered. The blond shifted her gaze out the window. "After what happened at the Church today, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to him on this journey," she said as she shifted her gaze to the floor and placed her hands over her heart, "I want Lloyd stay here in the village, where I know it's safe. I want to make a world where he can live a happy life." She then moved her eyes back to her grand mother's. "Then I'll always be able to look after Lloyd from heaven," Colette said with resound resolution.

"Chosen?" a masculine voice said from behind the blond.

"Yes Mr. Kratos, I am ready to go now," Colette answered, knowing whom it was. The purple clad mercenary nodded and made for the stairs. "Well grand mother, I guess this is good bye," Colette said sadly as she forced her tears from spilling.

Phaidra let her tears flow from her eyes as she grabbed her grand daughter and pulled her into a loving embrace, one that Colette returned. "You be safe now," the elderly woman said in between sobs.

"I will grandmother, please look after Lloyd for me," Colette answered as she reluctantly pulled away from the priestess.

Colette found her father standing near the door, waiting for her. He, like his mother was unable to contain his sorrow as he realized his daughter was leaving for good. Frank immediately went over and embraced his daughter. "Colette, be careful, the world is a dangerous place, listen to Mr. Kratos, and do as he says," Frank said.

"Yes, I will father," Colette answered. The girl turned to face her mercenary guardian and nodded solemnly.

Kratos nodded back and went for the door. He opened it and stepped aside for Colette. The girl made her way out the door, but stopped to take a last glance at her family before continuing.

Outside, Professor Raine stood waiting for them. She wore her traditional orange and black coat over her white and black shirt with her black pants. In one of her hands was her staff, used for fighting, and mostly healing.

"Are we all set then?" Raine asked. Kratos nodded in reply. Raine motioned for them to go ahead before following close behind.

_'Good-bye father, grandmother, Genis, I'll miss you guys. Lloyd, I'm sorry, but I couldn't bear to see you get hurt, I hope in time you forgive me,' _Colette said to herself as she felt her heart tear in half. The trio silently left the village in the stillness of the night.

The next morning, Lloyd still lay on his bed. He heard everything last night, but he couldn't being himself to confront them about it, he didn't have the energy to.

* * *

However, now that he allowed his body to recover, Lloyd got up and proceeded to act like it was a normal day. He got up, showered, dressed, and made his way downstairs.

"Lloyd!" he heard Phaidra call him. "Lloyd, Colette left last night on her journey!" she exclaimed.

"What!" Lloyd yelled. He scrambled to get ready to go after the Chosen, until he was distracted.

A loud explosion bellowed throughout the small village. In the distance, towards the village entrance, a large pillar of smoke could be seen rising up into the sky. The scene was quickly followed by a series of screams and buildings being caught on fire.

"What in the great goddess?" Phaidra started.

"Desians!" Lloyd yelled before charging out the door.

"Lloyd! Wait!" Phaidra called after him, but it was too late.

The Desians were running havoc throughout the village of Iselia. Burning buildings as they went about slaughtering every villager they came across.

"Sacred powers, I call upon the servant of Holy Spirit to guide my heart and soul to defend the hopes and dreams of the future, _**Divine Guardian**_!" Lloyd yelled as he ran through the now half burning village. He channeled his will to save everyone inside of the village walls into the spell.

A golden eagle formed from the mana and feelings behind the spell, and flew right next to the boy as he charged through the village.

The village guards, dressed in their normal cloths, were armed with nothing more than a pitchfork, and a short sword forged by Dirk. They fought valiantly, but they were either killed off, or gathered to the center of the village with many of the surviving villagers.

"Noishe!" Lloyd yelled, hoping the arshis would hear him. He turned towards the golden eagle. "_Go find the survivors and protect them," _he commanded to it. The bird didn't show any response to the order except for an increase in its elevation and velocity.

* * *

Forcystus strode over towards the round up villagers. The surviving guards encircled the civilians, and the mayor placed himself near the edge of the circle.

"What is the cause of all this? You are in violation of the Non-Aggression Treaty!" the mayor exclaimed.

"Shut up you inferior being!" Forcystus exclaimed. "I am Forcystus, one of the five Desian Grand Cardinals, here to pass judgment upon Lloyd Aruion," he introduced himself. He turned his attention to the troops surrounding him. "Find the angel and bring him here before me," he told them quietly so that the villagers wouldn't hear. "Find him! Tear this pathetic village down if you have to!" he ordered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Yes sir!" the Desians responded before running off in different directions.

"Looking for me Forcystus?" Lloyd bellowed, causing all eyes to turn to him.

"I knew it! You ARE working with the Desians!" the mayor shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at the boy. "See! I told you, all of you!" he addressed the villagers.

The rounded up villagers began to discuss the propaganda, now truly believing it to be true.

"Lloyd, you have been found in violation of the Non-Aggression Treaty," Forcystus started.

"You did what!" one of the villagers asked.

"Lloyd didn't violate the treaty!" another voice said. Genis stepped around a building, sweat evident on his face from running. "I did! I broke the treaty!" Genis admitted

"Genis!" Lloyd barked.

"No Lloyd, you saved me last time, it's my turn to return the favor," Genis argued.

"Great," the mayor muttered. "Two Desian lovers."

Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd saw Noishe cautiously approach the group. "Genis, if you want to return the favor, then do this, tell Colette," Lloyd paused as he let his mana flow freely through out his entire body for the first time in years. "Tell her what happened and make sure she doesn't come back here," he said. Lloyd's eyes gained a golden tint to them.

"W-What do you do you mean Lloyd?" Genis asked in confusion.

"Noishe," Lloyd commanded. "Take Genis and go find Colette and the others," he ordered. The arshis turned towards his owner, and lowered his ears in regret. But he followed his friend's request and dashed over to Genis.

"No Lloyd!" Genis yelled as the arshis through the small elf over his back and ran out of the village.

"Oh no you don't!" Forcystus yelled as he charged the cannon attached to his arm. Just as he fired towards the arshis and elf, the golden eagle swooped down and intercepted the blast with its shield, allowing them to get away. Once the blast dissipated, the bird flew over to the villagers and perched onto one of the remaining guard's shoulder.

"Forcystus, in the name of Lady Martel, I'll give you one chance," Lloyd started as the gold tint in his eyes became more prominent. "Leave this village, and don't come back!" he finished. A golden aura began to encase Lloyd's body as he took a steadier stance.

"What's going on here?" the mayor asked quietly. "Did Lloyd just threaten this Desian?"

The fear on Forcystus's face became more evident as Lloyd's golden eyes made contact with his own.

Next, to everyone's amazement, a pair of luminescent blue eagle wings sprouted from Lloyd's back. "If you do not leave, I will do what I must to protect this village and all those within it," Lloyd said and the wings from his back fluttered tensely.

Forcystus didn't move, totally paralyzed from the boy's reaction, and his threat. "Very well then," Lloyd said quietly.

"Protector of the light, Keeper of Truth, Defender of Justice, I call upon your aid to smite my foes, _**Divine Light**__!" _Lloyd casted. The golden aura that flowed around the angel's body gathered and swirled with the mana from inside his body and gathered just above his chest before exploding in a brilliant flash of golden light.

* * *

Once they left the village, it didn't take long for Noishe to pick up the scent of the Chosen's group, and immediately they shot southward.

Genis looked back to the village from which he came. To his astonishment, the entire village seemed to be engulfed by a bubble of golden light. "What the?" he thought out loud. "What's going on at the village?"

A loud crackle brought the boy's attention to the sky where storm clouds seemed to gather out of nowhere. '_Lloyd, be careful,' _Genis thought before turning his attention back to the direction that Noishe was running in.

"Come on Noishe! We have to find Colette and Raine!" Genis stated. Noishe barked in confirmation.

* * *

As the light began to fade, rain started to pour down. Gently at first, but quickly became rougher. Lloyd stood in the center of the village; his eyes back to their usual chocolate brown. His luminescent appendages fluttered calmly from his back.

Most of the Desians that had attacked the village lay dead, sprawled out across the village. The only remaining one was Forcystus, who was struggling to keep himself upright.

"Wh- what are you?" the injured Desian asked.

"I am the voice and will of Lady Martel, I am her servant," Lloyd spoke, strong and clear. "I am here to make sure that no one harms the Chosen, absolutely _no one!" _he growled at the fallen Cardinal.

Forcystus used the last of his strength to get back up on his feet and teleport away.

The villagers just stood and gazed at Lloyd in awe. "An Angel?" one of them asked. "I don't believe it, we were in the midst of an angel the entire time," another said.

"What is going on here!" the mayor shouted. Lloyd didn't answer, instead he just turned towards the direction he came and began to walk away.

"Lloyd! Come back here!" the mayor shouted after him.

Lloyd, who had adverted his eyes to the ground in shame, just continued walking. "_Lady Martel, I'm sorry, I've blown my cover," _Lloyd spoke,

"_It's ok Lloyd, it couldn't have lasted forever," _Martel answered.

Lloyd looked up from the ground to make eye contact with Phaidra, Frank and Dirk. The last seemed to have a bundle in his arms, as well as a smirk on his face. The two Brunels had faces of stone.

* * *

'_That boy, that Lloyd, I know he can't possibly be my son, but for some reason, he seems so familiar,' _Kratos thought as he watched Raine and Colette stop for the night in a cave. Behind all of the rain clouds that had caused their pace to slow considerable, the sun was drifting closer to the horizon, and it would take time to set up.

Colette sat on her sleeping mat, her hands clasped over her heart to try and counteract the pain in it. The guilt of lying to Lloyd and making him stay behind tore her apart. '_Lloyd's not alone though,' _Colette reasoned. _'Genis and Noishe are there with him. And Mr. Dirk and father and grandmother too.' _The blond forced a smile on her face.

"Well, I got a fire going," Raine spoke up. "I'll go and get dinner started no-" she continued.

"Raine! Genis!" a voice spoke causing all three sets of eyes to turn. A boy with soaked blue clothes and silver hair clung to a green and white furred dog like creature as it ran around in their general location.

'_Is that...Noishe!' _Kratos inwardly exclaimed. _'That can only mean that _that_ Lloyd _is _my son!' _

"Genis!" Raine yelled out signaling her little brother. The two new comers entered the cave graciously, eager to get out of the storm. "Genis, I thought I told you to stay at the village," she scolded.

"But Raine! The village, it... it..." Genis fumbled with his words.

"Genis, where's Lloyd?" Colette asked as she approached her friend, confusion evident in her voice. The young mage adverted his eyes away from the blond; his expression told her that it was bad. Colette brought her hands up and covered her mouth to try and muffle a scream as her eyes watered up, and tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"Genis," Raine said quietly, with anxiety in her voice. "Tell me exactly what happened," she instructed.

* * *

**Chapter 8, completed, hope you enjoy.**

**Tell me what you think about it!**

**Comments, questions, reviews, ALL WELCOME!**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 9**

The sound of the rain pounding against the buildings and streets of the village echoed throughout Lloyd's ears as he felt the entire village's remaining population gaze at him in awe. The luminescent wings that he had revealed after hiding them for so long had all of them mesmerized. Was it that amazing for an angel to be in their midst? There are elves, and half elves in the world. There were summon spirits, dragons, serpents, you name it, you could find it. What made angel's so spectacular?

"Ha ha," Dirk said as he continued to grin at the angel. "That shut that mayor up, I was wonderin when you'd stop hidin them things!" he continued.

"Y-you knew?" Lloyd asked.

"Of course!" Dirk bellowed. "Yuan filled me in on the details, but I had a feelin from the start. I ain't no elf, but even I can tell that no average boy has a mana as thick as yours," he said with a knowing look.

"Speaking of Uncle Yuan," Lloyd started. "How do you know him?" the angel asked.

"Simple! He's the one who told me to make ya two swords!" Dirk answered as he tossed the sack he'd carried to the angel. Lloyd opened the sack to see two finely crafted swords; he pulled one out of its case and inspected the blade. The shining steel of the blades reflected the blue glow produced from Lloyd's wings as the rain gave it the reflective capabilities of a mirror.

Lloyd slid the blade back into its case and admired the rest of it. He looked back up at Dirk and smiled. "Thank you, their wonderful," he said. Dirk grinned in response. The angel then turned to Frank and Phaidra.

"Colette would have headed south, I recommend starting at the House of Salvation between here and Triet," Frank advised. Lloyd nodded in understanding.

"I hope they're ok in this weather," Phaidra said as she looked up to the pouring sky.

"They probably stopped to shelter from the storm, least they all get sick," Lloyd stated. "Well, I guess I'd better be going," he said.

"In this weather? Lloyd you'll catch a cold just as quick!" Phaidra argued.

"I'm an angel! I'll be fine!" Lloyd stated with a grin as his wings flapped in confirmation.

"Just stay safe," Frank said. Lloyd nodded and turned towards the village gate, or at least what was left of it.

He began to walk towards the exit when he stopped and turned back towards the only three left in the village that had been kind to him. "Please make sure they don't tell anyone about my secret," Lloyd said gesturing towards the rest of the villagers who were still stuck in shock.

"Aye, you can count on it Lloyd," Dirk said. "And Lloyd," the dwarf continued. "Remember the dwarven vows that I taught you. Particularly number seven."

"Justice and love will always win, right?" Lloyd said with a sigh.

After bidding farewell to the three, Lloyd made his way to the gate. The once proud wooden gate had been blown apart, casting huge shards of wood in every direction on the inside. The lone make shift watch tower that had been constructed seemed to have been knocked over from the blast.

Once outside of the village, Lloyd sighed in comfort as he stretched his wings preparing to take flight. "Don't tell me you're going to fly in this weather?" a voice said to the angel's side.

"Well Uncle Yuan, I have a lot of ground to make up and flying is the quickest way to travel," Lloyd said to Yuan who was leaning against a tree.

"True, in this weather, even your angelic abilities might not protect you from sickness," Yuan said.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Lloyd asked with a shrug. Yan signaled Lloyd to come over with a flick of his wrist.

"You're going to intercept them at Triet," Yuan said as they began to teleport away.

* * *

"You knew that Lloyd was an angel all along!" the mayor shouted in disbelief.

"Yes, we found him wounded outside of the village, he told us he was trying to find the Chosen to protect her, so we took him in," Phaidra stated.

"I don't believe it," the mayor mumbled.

"Oh, how quick is it that you had a change of attitude," Frank nearly shouted.

"Excuse me?" the mayor asked with a confused expression.

"You heard me! And this applies to all the rest of you too!" Frank continued. "Ever since we took Lloyd in, you've treated him like scum, no! Worse than scum, but only know that you know who he truly is do you think of him as a human being?"

Phaidra and Dirk, as well as all of the villagers looked at Frank in disbelief from his outburst.

"Why?" the man continued. "I don't understand why he put up with it, every single time you put him down it hurt him, he could have changed it, but didn't."

"What are you talking about, we never put Ll-" the mayor tried to say.

"Don't even try to defend yourself!" Frank yelled. "I heard you myself, and I heard the rest from my daughter."

"The Chosen? What does she have to do with any of this?" another villager asked.

"Everything," Frank mumbled just loud enough for them to hear his voice. "She was always with Lloyd, because she was afraid that the moment he left the house without her he would be pelted with stones, or cursed at with every step he took, or ripped away and thrown out of the village."

The mayor shifted his gaze to the ground.

"So why? Why did you treat him as such?" Frank asked. The others followed the mayor's lead and shifted their attention to the ground, not knowing an answer.

"His last request was, not to let anyone know his secret," Phaidra said, trying to shift the topic of discussion. "If you want to repent for your misdeeds against the Chosen's guardian angel, then you can honor Lloyd's request." The shameful villagers slowly nodded their heads, one by one.

* * *

"-And so then I heard your voice and came here," Genis finished his story. The small elf sat there in nothing but his trousers and a towel as well as one of Raine's spare coats, as his older sister took his clothes and hung them over the fire so they would dry.

Colette's face lost the color it normally had and was replaced by a pale shade. Her best friend, the boy she loved so much it hurt, could be dead for all she knew. "Lloyd," she said quietly, her voice so weak, she barely heard herself. '_It's my fault!' _she scolded herself. '_I shouldn't have left him behind! I should have just set aside my fear and let him come with us. If I did, then…' _she couldn't finish that train of thought. Just even a single mention of a thought about it tugged at her heart strings.

'_No!' _she exclaimed in her head. '_Lloyd is alive! He… he has to be!' _she continued.

Kratos, who had been trying his best not to show any emotion, listened to the story intensely. From what he gathered, Lloyd never told them he was an angel, which would also mean that he would try not to show any ties to him, which would explain why the boy acted so strange around him. However, Kratos's parental instincts got the better of him, he had to find out if his son was ok, otherwise it will plague him for eternity.

He was trying to find a suitable excuse for the group to turn back, so he could have a chance to search for his son. _'Perhaps to drop Genis off? Re-stock on supplies? Or even-,' _Kratos debated until Martel blessed him with an opportunity.

"We have to go back!" Colette's quiet voice said almost immediately, causing all others in the cave to look at her. She ignored their stares as well as the embarrassed blush that had decided to spread itself across her face. "We have to make sure everyone is alright," she mused, suddenly finding her fingers very interesting as her blush became darker.

"Colette, I understand your feelings, but-," Raine started.

"I agree with the Chosen," Kratos sounded. Raine gave the mercenary a shocked glance. "If she worries about the safety of her friends and family, it could deter her from her duties as Chosen, therefore, I say we go back. Besides, this is her Journey of Regeneration. Who are we to decide what she can or cannot do?" He explained. Colette gave the mercenary a grateful look.

"Yeah!" Genis said. "I'm worried about Lloyd too!"

Raine sighed in defeat. "Fine, we'll go back," she said. "After this storm passes," she added.

The group fell silent, and the only sounds that punctuated the air was the pounding of the rain, the loud roars of thunder off in the distance, crackling from the fire, and an occasional whine from Noishe.

Kratos watched as the Chosen sat by the fire praying, for what he couldn't tell, nor did it really matter, he wanted to find his son. The Sage siblings were closer to the fire, Raine tending to Genis's clothes, will the boy started to boil some water.

Kratos looked at the Arshis as it made its way over to him and lay down. '_Typical of Noishe, his loyalty knows no bounds,' _Kratos mused to himself as he absent mindedly began to scratch Noishe behind the ears, just like Lloyd would.

"Hey! Noishe warmed up to you pretty quickly," Genis stated.

"Hm?" Kratos said as he looked up. Genis watched him out of the corner of his eye.

"Noishe, as friendly as he is, doesn't usually warm up to people that fast. It took a while for him to let me pet him, I don't know how long it took Colette though," Genis said. "I remember when he almost bit the mayor, that was really funny," Genis said with a laugh.

Both Raine and Kratos gave the boy confused looks. "He decided that enough was enough and tried to kick him out of the village, saying monsters shouldn't be allowed inside the walls. So Noishe almost bit him, would have to, had Lloyd not stopped him," Genis explained.

"That man, the mayor, he doesn't seem to like this Lloyd much, does he?" Kratos asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Raine eyed Kratos wearily. "He believes Lloyd is in league with the Desians," she said. "Because more than once he'd seen Lloyd out at night."

"But Lloyd would never side with the Desians!" Genis interrupted. "I'm sure he was out for a good reason!"

"Lloyd was trying to finish his studies," Colette finally said as she joined in on the conversation.

"His studies?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah, Lloyd was studying to become a priest!" Genis remembered.

'_A priest? As an angel, he could be much more than a priest, he could be the pope if he wanted to,' _Kratos told himself. "Why did he decide to become a priest?"

Colette didn't answer; instead she shifted her attention to the fire in front of her. She cuddled her knees to her chest and buried the bottom half of her face in them.

Raine, noticing the younger girl's actions turned back to Kratos. "I find it odd that you have such a sudden interest in Lloyd," she stated to the mercenary.

"Uh," he grunted in surprise. "Yes, you're right," he said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Forgive me," he said.

* * *

Lloyd, along with Yuan appeared in a fabulously decorated room. Adorned with plants, and chairs. Paintings sat upon the walls. In between two of the small potted trees, was a crystal like panel. Two doors stood adjacent from each other on one end of the room, and a large desk stood near the back of the room.

"This is, well, my office," Yuan said bluntly.

Lloyd looked around. It was definably more decorative than the room that Yggrassil had given him back in Welgaia. "This is a pretty nice set up you've got here Uncle Yuan," Lloyd spoke.

"Thank you," Yuan replied as he went and sat behind the desk and examined the mountain of paper work that sat there waiting for him. "Ugh," he moaned. "How does this stuff always keep coming back!" Yuan complained.

Lloyd couldn't help but chuckle at his uncle's antics. He continued to examine the room when he stopped and gazed at a picture. The picture showed Yuan and Kratos as well as two other companions together. He recognized one of the figures as Lady Martel, so he figured the last must be Yggrassil from before he went crazy.

"Woah!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I don't believe it!"

"Huh?" Yuan asked, he saw Lloyd gesture to the picture.

"Dad actually smiled for this?" the boy asked in disbelief.

"Those were happier times, but then, you already know all about that," Yuan said. "Which reminds me, I've always been curious about this, but what did Martel actually teach you?"

Lloyd gave a small smirk. "She taught me how to be an angel," Lloyd said. "Or at least an angel from her perspective, not Yggrassil's kind. They're just cold and heartless…. No offence Uncle Yuan," he added.

"None taken," Yuan shrugged. "Any special techniques?"

"A few, personally I like my guardian," Lloyd answered.

"Your guardian?" Yuan asked.

Lloyd nodded and began to explain how his guardian worked.

* * *

"Lady Pronyma," Forcystus said as he acknowledged his superior. A woman, wearing a leather suit stood before the Cardinal. She had green eyes and matching green hair. She had green lipstick to compliment her hair and eyes. On her shoulders sat her shield tiles, laced together, giving them the appearance of a cloak. In one of her hands was a report that was handed to her.

"Thank you Forcystus, you may return to your ranch now," she said as she still read the report.

"Yes Lady Pronyma," Forcystus said before leaving.

Pronyma finished reading the report and turned towards the large throne room on the other side of the door she stood before. She opened the door and approached Yggrassil as he sat.

"What is it Pronyma?" he asked.

"Lord Yggrassil," Pronyma started as she bowed. "A report came in from Forcystus. Apparently, Lady Martel's little fledgling had a scrap with him, and left Forcystus to lick his wounds."

"And why would Forcystus engage Lloyd in battle?" Yggrassil asked.

"Apparently my lord," Pronyma answered. "He moved his forces into the Village of Iselia and began attacking," she said.

"I see," Yggrassil said.

"However, something in the report seems odd. He said that Lloyd said he wouldn't let anyone touch the Chosen, and he stressed the word "anyone." Is this some sort of threat my lord?" Pronyma asked.

"No, I feel it is just Martel's servant's way of saying he'll protect her from the Renegades," Yggrassil said.

* * *

After parting ways with Dirk, Frank and Phaidra returned to their home. "Frank," Phaidra said.

"Yes mom?" Frank answered.

"Was that outburst really necessary?" the priestess asked.

Frank sighed. "I know, It was uncalled for, but I was just so sick and tired of it," he answered. "They just always treated him so bad, without even giving him a chance.

"Yes, I understand your feelings but there is a time and place for everything, and I don't think that was it," Phaidra said.

"It," Frank started. "it's just that I thought of Lloyd as a son. If it wasn't for Colette's feelings towards him, I would have adopted the boy."

* * *

As the moonlight finally broke through the barrier of clouds that had covered the sky, the raining finally stopped.

"Look!" Colette exclaimed. "The rain stopped! Now we can go back!"

Raine looked up at the sky and then the ground outside their little cave. "Not tonight we can't, it's too dark out now. And you may slip and fall in the puddles and get sick," she advised.

"First thing in the morning then," she added when she saw the blond become even more depressed. At her words, Colette nodded and smiled.

'_If only morning would come sooner,' _Kratos mused to himself.

* * *

** Chapter nine….**

**Well, there it is! Feel free to tell me what you think of it!**

**Comments, Questions, reviews, ALL WELCOME! **


	10. Chapter 10

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 10**

Lloyd relaxed his wings and stretched them out. It had been so long since he'd had a chance to stretch them, they felt a bit stuffy, stiff as a board. He looked over his shoulder as he bent the two luminescent wings in front of himself. As he inspected his wings a sigh of disapproval escaped from his lips.

'_Lady Martel would have a fit if she saw the condition these things were in,' _Lloyd mused to himself as he began to preen his feathers. As he worked, Lloyd began to sway on his feet absent mindedly. His head became fuzzier and fuzzier by the moment. By the time Lloyd realized what was happening it was too late.

Yuan looked up from his desk just in time to watch his godson collapse on the floor. "Lloyd!" Yuan exclaimed. He quickly jolted up from his chair and rushed to the boy's side. "Mana exhaustion," Yuan mused as he picked the unconscious angel up and took him into the room right next door.

The bedroom was of the same original design as the office. Paintings and plants surrounded the room. Two beds sat next to each other. The lighting in the room came from a few mana lamps that we hung along the walls. A large red rug lay on the middle of the floor.

Yuan set Lloyd down on one of the beds. He reached over and placed the boy's two swords that the dwarf, Dirk, had given to him before he left on the table next to him. Lloyd's wings fluttered calmly as the angel rested.

"I suppose you ought to know your limits," Yuan said to himself as he sat down on the bed next to him. "However," he started on a new train of thought as he remembered the incident that happened at Iselia.

_Yuan sat in the shadows just outside the village and watched as Lloyd began to pulse a golden aura of pure mana. Everything about the boy's physical features gained a golden glow, even his clothing. He sat there in amazement as the huge amount of mana that his godson was pouring out magnified greatly when Lloyd's wings revealed themselves, much to the village's amazement. _

_ Yuan then watched and studied as the mana relocated itself at the boy's chest before launching itself in an attack. To anyone else's eyes, the attack would have just looked like an explosion of light, but to Yuan's trained angel eyes he could make out each individual pulse of light that emanated from the boy. He could see the waves of light knock Desians off their feet, leaving them dead before they hit the ground. The amount of mana behind the attack was so much more than Yuan thought any angel, with the exception of Yggrassil, was capable of possessing. He made a mental note to ask Lloyd about his abilities next time he got the chance. Something about the golden mana, and the strange attack seemed familiar, but he just couldn't figure out why._

It was only then that it dawned on Yuan. After making sure Lloyd was comfortable, Yuan moved over to one of his bookshelves. The shelves were lined with books that he'd taken straight from the libraries of Vinheim. He pulled out several of the oldest books written in an ancient variation of the angelic language, a dialect that very few could identify, yet alone read.

He took the books with him back to his desk and began to read through them. For hours he translated ancient texts, only to find out that there was more to read, which only brought up more questions.

Yuan listened to the steady breathing of his god son sleeping in the next room over. "If only Yggrassil knew just how important you are to Martel," Yuan mused to himself as he wrote down notes of the discoveries he had figured out thus far into his research. "He'd have kept you with him at all times."

* * *

"Professor!" Colette called out, waking up the two Sage siblings. "It's morning now, we should start heading back," the Chosen continued in a more calm, but still anxious voice.

"Not yet," Raine replied. "First we must have a decent breakfast. It is unwise to travel on an empty stomach, especially if we are attacked," the teacher reasoned.

Colette realized the logic behind Raine's words, and her desire to keep the four, or five including Noishe, of them safe from any threat that they may face, wither it be remaining Desians on the lookout for them, or just a random group of monsters. Colette barely managed to hold back her discontent sigh. '_A good Chosen does not show anger or discontent,' _she reminded herself. But did Raine not realize how much going back meant to her? Did she not understand her desire, no, her need to make sure that her family was alright, and that Lloyd was…

Just the thought of anything happening to him sent a chill so cold down Colette's spine.

"Chosen," Kratos spoke as he entered the cave. Kratos had taken night watch outside partly through the night, once the outside of the cave had dried a little bit. Even though the rain had stopped, the damp weather may cause some of the larger monsters to seek shelter, so he had perched himself atop of their rocky tunnel to insure that no dangerous creatures came near their camp. "Be at ease, I'll help prepare breakfast so that it may be done quicker," Kratos spoke to the blond.

Colette nodded and smiled at her mercenary guardian, but her smile quickly faded from its normal bright and cheery appearance, into a scared and sad look. Kratos studied her expression, but otherwise let it pass as he began to start a fire as Genis pulled cooking utensils from one of the bags Raine had brought with them.

As the sound of the fire crackling, the whines made by a begging Noishe, and idle conversation was exchanged between some of the travelers, they cave filled with life as everyone woke up to the smell of breakfast.

However, the Chosen walked towards the cave's entrance. Colette stood and faced the direction of Iselia. The morning sun swept across her face, lighting her up with an angelic glow. The wind caused her blonde hair to sway back and forth. The sound of the early birds chirping, and the smell of fresh morning dew surrounded her.

'_Lloyd,' _Colette thought to herself. She absent mindedly placed her hands over her heart in prayer. '_Please be ok.' _

"Colette," Genis called her. "Come have some breakfast," he said when the blonde turned to face him. Colette nodded and took the plate offered to her gratefully. As she ate, Colette would often shift her gaze out towards the cave exit.

"Calm down Chosen," Kratos said. Colette flinched, had she really been that obvious? "We'll be heading back soon, so don't worry." Colette nodded in understanding and forced a smile on her face.

"Kratos, why do you really want to head back?" Raine asked him with a stern look. Her eyes studied every feature of his face in case his face gave any indication that he was lying.

"Well," Kratos started. He knew this was coming. It would have been foolish to believe that Raine had trusted him so much to believe his first answer. "If Genis is going to be joining us, we will need to head back for more supplies, the amount we have now will not support us all the way to Triet. Or, if you would rather leave him behind, we could just escort him back to the village," Kratos explained.

"I see," Raine said. Her eyes became less hostile upon his face. "That would be a logical course of action."

After they finished eating and packing up their temporary campsite. The group proceeded towards the direction of Iselia. Noishe traveled behind the group, his ears drooping downwards. He was whining quietly. The arshis couldn't help but feel as though he abandoned Lloyd. Genis also shared similar feelings, he felt completely useless, Lloyd had saved him from the Desians twice now, and both times were his fault, not Lloyd's. Kratos was anxious to return to the village, if not to see his son, then to at least learn more about him. Colette, however, was the most anxious to get back. The trip to the village was almost silent. The only punctual noises were sighs, and the sounds coming from birds and other sources of nature.

After a couple of hours of walking, the group could see small plumes of smoke rising in the distance, from the direction of Iselia. Upon seeing the smoke, the group rushed to the remains of the village.

* * *

Yggrassil walked calmly down the corridors of his castle. A smile etched on his face, and for good reason. The current Chosen of Mana residing in Sylvarant had the closest match to his sister's mana signature; in fact it was almost as if the chosen was Martel's reincarnation. And just to makes things better for him, he knew that this chosen was protected, not only did he send Kratos, the only human he actually trusted, to go protect her, but even Martel herself blessed this girl by sending Lloyd along.

Suddenly, the leader of Cruxis stopped. He narrowed his eyes. '_Why does Martel speak to that servant, and not me? Am I not her brother?'_ he asked himself. The more he thought about it, the more he began to doubt his understanding. Lloyd was the only angel he had ever seen without a Cruxis Crystal, he had assumed that Lloyd had wings because of his father's Cruxis crystal, but that didn't seem to fit. After all, the two had different style wings. Was the color of their wings the only similarity?

Determined to find an answer, Yggrassil went to his archives. The Archives of Vinheim held all of the documents of the two worlds before they were split. In order to preserve the lie that the Desians had cause the Kharlan Wars, he had to remove all traces of the truth. The large library was surrounded by stone walls, eliminated by two large fireplaces set at opposite ends of the room. Along the walls in between the large fireplaces were a series of mana powered lamps. Two large staircases connected the ground floor to the upper level. Rows upon rows of books, scripts, and other ancient texts lay preserved on their shelves and cases.

A small group of angels resided in this library, by Yggrassil's orders they kept the library preserved and took inventory of its belongings.

Knowing where to find the scriptures he was looking for, the leader of Cruxis proceeded through the rows, only to find that they were missing. Narrowing his eyes, he called over one of the librarians.

"Is there anything I can help you with Lord Yggrassil?" the angel spoke in a monotone voice.

"Where are the scriptures that are supposed to be here?" Yggrassil asked, keeping his irritancy down. The only ones that had access to this part of the library were himself and his seraphim.

"I do not know my lord, however, I do recall seeing Lord Yuan over here several years ago," the angel replied.

"Yuan," Yggrassil growled. That half-elf was beginning to wear on his nerves. In the beginning, Yuan was his biggest supporter, however over time that had begun to fade. Yggrassil believed that the seraph merely had suffered from a loss of moral, but did he not realize that their goal would soon be in sight?

Never the less, taking scriptures from the archives of Vinheim was strictly forbidden. Yggrassil would have to go and see Yuan personally.

* * *

Upon arrival at the village, the group was shocked to see the remains. The village gate was blown apart, the wall splintered and broken, and the watch tower crushed as if it were smashed into the ground. Many of the buildings were nothing but charred ruined frames many of which had collapsed, and most of the other buildings had scorch marks or other damages on their surfaces.

Genis hung his jaw low; the damages hadn't been nearly as bad last night. Raine and Kratos tried to show no emotion at all, but Kratos did much better than the professor. Colette covered her mouth with her hands as she gazed upon her village with horror.

"I had no idea it had been this bad," Genis said quietly.

The group silently made their way into the village. They saw some of the survivors, covered in sweat and soot, some bruised and others cut, moving ruble out of the way. The village guards, farmers and shop keepers, boys, husbands, fathers, all worked together to try and repair the village.

They moved deeper into the village, where a group of the mothers and older girls kept the children together and out of harm's way. Some tended to the exhausted workers with water and sweat rags. The kids played, either not fully aware of the situation that the village now faced, or not to naïve to be concerned. '_Still no sign of Grandmother, of father, or Lloyd,' _Colette thought sadly to herself.

Raine approached one of the children. "Excuse me," she started, getting the children's attention.

"Professor Sage!" they exclaimed happily. Their faces radiated excitement, despite the situation their families faced.

"Hello," Raine replied, forcing a smile, trying to keep the children as enthusiastic. "Do any of you know what happened here?" she asked kindly. They all shook their heads.

"There was a loud noise and we all got brought inside the school house," One of them, a little boy said.

"I heard someone say something about Desians," a little girl spoke. Some of the children shuttered, others looked down sadly, indicating to Raine that they knew something happened, just not exactly what.

"The next thing that happened was that some people came in to get us out of the school house so that they could put the hurt people in there," another little girl said.

Listening to the conversation Colette decided to join in. "And what about my father and grandmother?"

"Last time I saw Mrs. Brunel and Mr. Brunel was in the school house," a little boy said.

"And Lloyd?" Colette added.

The children fell silent, and their enthusiastic smiles faltered. Colette could help but feel her hope crumble beneath her feet.

"Daddy said," a little girl started. "That Mr. Lloyd is an angel now."

The group went wide eyed. Genis stood frozen from shock. Raine was taken aback just like her brother. Kratos assuming from the beginning that Lloyd had revealed his wings felt more assured of his survival, but was still worried about his whereabouts.

"No…way, Lloyd can't be…" Genis's voice faded.

Colette dropped onto her knees and cried into her dress. "Miss Chosen!" one of the children said as they rushed over to her. They wanted to try and help her, but were not accustomed to being so close to her, they were nervous, and a bit shy around her.

"Colette!" a deep voice said. The blonde chosen looked up to see her father rushing towards her. She stood up, and quickly embraced Frank as he rushed over to her. "Colette, I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Father!" Colette said in between sobs. Frank brushed her blonde hair in an attempt to soothe his daughter. "Lloyd…. He's…. he's!" she tried to say. Her worst fear had become a reality. '_It's my fault! It's my fault! Now Lloyd is gone, gone forever!' _

"Lloyd is just fine; he left the village after the Desians were defeated." Frank told her. With a sniffle, Colette looked into his eyes with both confusion and hope. "Lloyd and Mr. Dirk had driven the Desians out. It seems as though Lloyd had been working on more than just his studies," he said. "So cheer up, you're supposed to be a beacon of hope to the people of Sylvarant, alright?"

"Yes father," Colette said with a smile as she whipped the last of her tears away.

They turned around the corner, towards the center of the village. The village center seemed to be the only part unmarked by the Desian invasion.

That's when they saw it; corpses lined the side of school house. A couple dozen Desian corpses had been piled up into three large piles and set ablaze. The fallen villagers lay waiting, as the teenage boys dug their graves in the village cemetery.

Colette immediately jerked her gaze away from the rows of the dead, and Raine quickly covered her little brother's eyes.

After a moment Colette opened her eyes, and gazed at the deceased. She recognized many of the people, some from school, and others from around the village, but she was thankful that none of her loved ones were among them. She fell to her knees and prayed.

"Great Goddess Martel, please guide these poor souls to your heaven of Derris Kharlan, and please help their families in this great time of need," Colette spoke softly in prayer.

They made their way into the school house, where they saw dozen's of wounded villagers being treated by the more experienced women. Some men were helping the wounded move about.

"Colette!" Phaidra exclaimed as she rushed over and embraced Colette in a hug just as her father did.

"Hello grandmother," Colette managed to say as she was being squeezed by her grandmother. "I'm glad to see you're ok."

* * *

Lloyd stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "What happened?" he asked no one in particular. He turned his head and took in his surroundings. Then he noticed his swords sitting on the bedside table.

He took them and attached them to his belt, which lay hidden under his robe top. "Uncle Yuan?" Lloyd called out.

"In here Lloyd," Yuan called back. The seraph closed his book and stored it, along with all of his notes into his desk. The rest of the pile had already been replaced back on the shelves. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, but what happened?" Lloyd asked as he absent mindedly rubbed the back of his head.

"You pasted out from an over use of mana," Yuan replied. "I suggest for future reference, that you do not over do it again."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one," Lloyd said with a grin.

Yuan smirked. Even in his half dazed state, Lloyd was as optimistic as ever. "Here," Yuan said as he tossed Lloyd a small blue stone.

"An exsphere?" Lloyd asked cautiously. The boy's eyes filled with disgust, and his face showed sign of disapproval.

"That is no exsphere," Yuan started. "I simply just looks like one, it will help you explain your angelic strength and ability to use magic."

"If you say so," Lloyd said as he moved the gem around in his fingers.

* * *

**Wow that update took a long time v.v; but now it's here! ^.^**

**So tell me what you think of it!**

**I'm all ears so don't be shy**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 11**

Felling that Lloyd had played with the small semi-circular gem long enough, Yuan pulled out a premade key crest and gestured for Lloyd's hand. When he received his godson's hand he placed the metal crest on the back of his hand. Taking the small gem from Lloyd, he placed it in the center of the key crest where it fit perfectly.

Lloyd felt the gem cling to his skin, like a sock would when charged with an electrical current. The gem felt cold on his hand, but not nearly as cold as the crest itself. Just from the felling of it, Lloyd could tell that he would not be able to remove the key crest easily, not as long as the gem was on it anyhow. The moment the gem was placed on his hands, he did feel something besides the cold temperature that it provided. It felt almost like a nibble on his skin, but he quickly passed it off as the gem attaching to the crest.

"Now Lloyd," Yuan spoke, getting the younger angel's attention. "If anyone asks you were you got an exsphere, just say you got it from a dead Desian, alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure whatever you say Uncle Yuan," Lloyd replied, not exactly paying full attention to the man in front of him. Lloyd was absent mindedly rubbing his free hand over his newly augmented one, more specifically, over the fake exsphere.

Yuan watched attentively at the younger boy's behavior. '_Could he really…?' _Yuan thought to himself. The millennia old seraph quickly pushed the thought from his head, and focused on a more pressing matter. "Are you feeling better?"

"Huh?" Lloyd asked, turning his head towards his god father. Yuan sighed in response to Lloyd's intelligent answer.

"How does your head feel?" Yuan clarified.

"A little fuzzy, but otherwise alright, I guess," Lloyd replied.

"Well enough to travel?" Yuan clarified. Watching Lloyd occasionally sway on his feet told him all he needed to know. "Go lay down Lloyd," he said calmly.

"But Uncle Yuan!" Lloyd tried to protest.

"Bed!" Yuan ordered. Lloyd began to act like he was going to protest but Yuan silenced him before he started. "Now," he added as he pointed back towards the direction of the beds. With a defeated sigh, Lloyd turned back towards the bed he woke from, his wings drooping behind him.

* * *

Genis and Raine had left to go and see the damage done to their home, leaving Kratos and the Brunels. Noishe had long since gone to play with the young children. The small group sat themselves at the table located within the Brunel household. Phaidra prepared a proper lunch for her granddaughter and her mercenary guardian.

They explained to Colette what had happened in the village after her group had left, considering the young Chosen was most eager to find out. Kratos stood in back, near the stairway and watched the family talk. "So a few hours before noon, as Lloyd was about to head over to the Church with your grandmother, we heard an explosion and-"Frank was cut off in mid-story.

"Kratos, why don't you have a bite to eat, there is plenty to go around," Phaidra offered as she gestured to the food sitting on the table. "I'm sure a mercenary like you has to keep his strength up," she added kindly.

Colette and Frank paused in their conversation to observe the exchange between the mercenary and the head priestess. It was then that Colette realized that Kratos was the only one not to have eaten anything, and the more she thought about it, he ate as little as Lloyd usually did. Even though Phaidra's tone was soft and kind, both Colette and her father could notice the suspicious glint in the elderly woman's eyes.

"Thank you, but I am accustomed to eating very little," Kratos spoke. The elderly woman narrowed her eyes slightly, but kept a smile on her face.

"But I insist!" she spoke. "We have plenty, and it would be a shame for all of this good food to go to waste."

Sensing inevitable defeat, Kratos reached over and grabbed a small sandwich and nibbled on it. All the while Phaidra watched the man out of the corner of her eye, even though she turned her attention back to Colette who was listening to the story that the village had fabricated.

"The mayor has requested your presence before you leave again," Frank added after he finished his tale. Colette blinked in confusion.

"R-really? What for?" the young chosen asked.

"I believe it was something about a formal apology, or something of that sort," Frank replied. Colette only tilted her head in confusion. "Anyway, I guess we should just head over and get it done and over with before he throws a fit."

"Alright," Colette replied, still confused as to why the mayor would want to apologize for anything.

"Frank, why don't you be a dear and go with Colette," Phaidra spoke. "Kratos, I would greatly appreciate some help if you could spare your strength, my son is exhausted, and I'm too old to do it…" the elderly woman asked. She eyed the mercenary with wise eyes, knowing eyes that the seraph could easily recognize.

"Very well, I suppose I can help with whatever task you need accomplished," Kratos replied.

* * *

Yggrassil stormed out of Yuan's empty quarters. Sure, he may have assigned the half-elf to hunt down the renegades while Kratos was escorting the Chosen, but that still meant he had to be there in Derris Kharlan when he was going to see the seraph.

Angrier at the missing books rather than the missing seraph, Yggrassil left out a growl that caused several of the lifeless angels to venture towards him.

"Lord Yggrassil," they said with a bow. "Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"Find Yuan and bring him to me," Yggrassil spoke quietly, trying to remain calm and keep his complexion.

"At once Lord Yggrassil," the angels replied in unison before flying off to find the missing seraph.

The leader of Cruxis walked casually through the streets of Welgaia. There were no shops, no parks, no trees, or crowds. The city was as desolate as a dessert, but also as populated as a major city. Lifeless angels glided about the city, those without a task at hand drifted towards each other and began to share idle gossip, while those with tasks rushed to get them accomplished.

The metallic streets and metal buildings guiding the mighty angel back to his castle were practically empty.

* * *

The elderly woman sat down in one of the chairs by the table with a loud sigh. "You're Lloyd's father, aren't you?" Phaidra asked bluntly. Kratos was taken aback by the sudden question. The elderly priestess waited until the others had left the house and out of sight before confronting the angel.

"Excuse me?" Kratos suddenly said, absolutely confused. Phaidra simply smiled.

"He looks just like you when his hair is down," she simply said.

"How did you-"Kratos began to ask, still completely shocked.

With a soft chuckle Phaidra replied," When you get to be my age, and have raised two young angels, you can tell the differences between them and humans. One such attribute being their appetites…"

"…I see," Kratos replied as re regained his former tone. But then he added, "You said you raised two angels?"

"I meant both Lloyd and Colette, even though the Chosen is not an angel yet, she will be soon enough," the priestess said with another soft chuckle. "But…," the priestess started.

"I first noticed when you arrived at the church, you two looked so similar, but I just couldn't match two and two together. The second clue was how you would always turn your head slightly to wherever his name was mentioned," Phaidra continued.

"I see," Kratos spoke.

"Then of course there was the matter of the Desians in the village, Lloyd has that same determined look in his eyes as you. Also with the boy's hair covering half of his face, he looks like a miniature version of you," Phaidra finished with a happy smile on her face. "You should be proud, Lloyd is a fine young man."

"He gave you no problems as he was going up then I presume?" Kratos asked with the slightest trace of a smile on his face, just goading the rest of it to show.

"None at all! Except that he would disappear in the middle of the night every now and again, it made Colette worry about him. She tried to follow him a couple of times, but always got caught. That girl and her clumsiness," Phaidra mused to herself with a short giggle.

"The Chosen and Lloyd are close?" Kratos asked all traces of a smile disappearing on his face as he absent mindedly took a seat opposite of the priestess.

"Absolutely, best friends I guess you could call it, but Colette has an adorable crush on him, and I'm sure that somewhere in his heart Lloyd feels the same.

_'That could complicate things,'_ Kratos spoke to himself. "I take it then that the story of what had transpired here is fabricated then?"

"Mostly, but not completely. Would you like to hear the complete story?" the priestess asked. When Kratos nodded, the old woman smiled. "I'll start a batch of tea then," she said as she rose from her seat.

* * *

The next morning Yuan escorted Lloyd to the dessert town of Triet. Yuan dressed in his usual attire, while Lloyd was still dressed in his church garments, but this time had his twin swords attached to his belt, and his knapsack on his back, containing his spare clothes, sleeping bag, and some other basic provisions such as food and water.

The small town was surrounded by a large wall made of hardened sand. The buildings were composed of the same material. The streets were filled with bazaars and vendors. Crowds of people flocked towards them. The settlement surrounded an oasis that was large enough to provide the entire town with water.

The seraph escorted his godson to Triet to make sure he got there safely and to make sure he was fully recovered. "Alright Lloyd, I'm sure the chosen's group has not come through here yet, so just be patient and wait. Try to kill some time and relax while you can. The inn is just over that way," Yuan spoke as he gestured over to the large two-story building nearest to the entrance they stood by.

"Shops lie all over the city so you can explore them as you wish. And if you feel the need, you can ask others if they have seen your friends," Yuan finished.

"Yeah, sure," Lloyd muttered as he was gazing at the town in wonder. The dessert wind carried traces of sand in it causing small waves of sand to ripple across the sandy streets.

With a chuckle Yuan dropped a sack a small gold coins in the younger angel's hands. "That should be enough gald to get you by until your father gets here, if not I guess you could just get a job," Yuan spoke in a soft mocking tone.

"Thanks Uncle Yuan!" Lloyd exclaimed with a goofy grin as he scratched the back of his head with one of his hands. Then he ran off towards the town to investigate it further.

"Good luck Lloyd," Yuan muttered under his breathe with a smile on his face before he turned and left back towards his base.

Unfortunately for the blue haired seraph, one of Cruxis' messenger angels decided to visit him instead. "Lord Yuan," the angel greeted with a respectful bow. "Lord Yggrassil requests your presence. Something about books from the sacred archive," the angel said.

"Thank you," Yuan said, managing to keep a straight face. "You are dismissed." With that the angel bowed before disappearing in a flash of light just like it appeared. The only remaining signs of the messenger were a few feathers slowly drifting towards the ground.

"So he finally starts to catch on a little," Yuan mused. "A little late though," he continued as he continued on his way back to his base. There was no way he'd let Yggrassil discover the same information as him, he'd hunt down and capture Lloyd.

* * *

This time the entire village or at least what was left of it came out to see them off. Looking around, Colette was pleased to see that Raine had allowed her little brother Genis to join them in the end. Now, fully equipped, they were going to head out again, this time without the Ranch's interference, or at least she hoped so.

'_Lloyd, you're out there somewhere, wait for me,' _Colette said to herself before turning towards the road, her face visible with confidence and determination.

The steps were much easier for her to take than when they were two nights ago when she first left. This time though, she wasn't leaving behind her best friend, her crush, instead she was going out there to meet him and regenerate the world!

* * *

After purchasing a room for the next few days at the inn, Lloyd discovered that Yuan had practically left the boy a small fortune to work with. So he decided to browse around the shops just like his god father had suggested.

Lloyd saw weapon stands, but he was perfectly comfortable with his dwarven made swords. He saw numerous armor shops, but all that metal would just irritate his wings and weigh him down. He saw numerous food stands, but he didn't have to eat as much as regular people did. He noticed her shops, and potion shops, but his angelic healing skills were far better, or at least to him they were.

Apart from a couple of trinket shops here and there, the bazaar was kind of boring and disappointing. One small establishment stood out from the rest though, draped in purple cloth rather than the same stale tan as the others. This tent had ornate designs on the fabric as well as a couple of decorative plants outside the entrance.

Deciding to give the place a go, Lloyd ventured inside. He was surprised to see just how small the place was compared to how enormous it looked on the outside. The inside was pretty plain, a few flowers here and there, and a counter running across the center, dividing the already small area into two separate parts. A woman sat in a chair opposite of where Lloyd stood, her back to him, her eyes downcast into a glass-like ball she held in her hands. She wore a simple purple dress to accommodate her long black hair.

"Greetings, fledgling of Cruxis," the woman spoke, effectively startling Lloyd who made a quick double take to make sure his wings were hidden. "Fear not, young master, I mean you no harm, to you or your secret. I was just able to sense the mass of mana about you," she continued to speak as she turned to face Lloyd. The woman reached back and tucked some of her hair behind one of her long pointed ears. "You are not the only one walking amongst humans," she said with a smile.

Settling down a little, Lloyd let out a sigh. "You're an elf?" he asked. The woman nodded.

"Yes, not all elves live in Heimdal, some of us prefer open places, exotic places, or even in my case dessert places," the elf said. "Now then, you put me in a good mood, so I'll give you a reading for free," she said with a smile.

"A reading?" Lloyd asked. The elf only giggled.

"_Fortune telling," _Martel clarified for Lloyd.

Understanding as if a light switch went off in his head, gave his trademark goofy grin. "Alright! Sounds fun!" he exclaimed.

"May I see your hand?" the elf asked. Lloyd held out his right hand so she would be able to take it. "Now place that hand on the top of my crystal ball," she continued. Lloyd did as instructed as the elf set the ball on the counter on a pedestal.

The ball began to glow with a cerulean light when the young angel touched the sphere. Startled, Lloyd quickly pulled his hand back. The elf didn't seem to mind.

"I see," the elf started. "A young woman of great worth, she will play the ultimate role in your life." The fortune teller spoke as she gazed into the ball. "I see much pain and many trials that must be overcome. I see an ancient flower, once again blooming…" she continued.

Lloyd only gazed at the ball as he listened intently. "I see a tree, dying, and spreading forth misfortune, waiting to be resurrected. I see a massive tower, reaching into the heavens, and a woman, trapped within her own prison, waiting to be rescued," the elf finished. She looked up from the orb, and back at Lloyd. "The rest is too blurry for me to decipher."

* * *

**There you have it folks, chapter 11! I hope you enjoy it! But even more important than that, I want to know what you all feel about it, so I'll be happy to take any questions, comments, corrections, etc, so don't be shy!**

**Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 12**

"Raine, are we there yet?" Genis asked as he wiped the sweat off of his face. Carrying all of his personal belongings under the blazing sun was beginning to get to him. However fortunate that they were able to load up his cooking supplies onto Noishe's make shift saddle, the desert environment was still harsh for him.

"We should reach Triet by noon if we keep this pace up," Kratos spoke from the head of the group. He carried his small bag on his back and kept one hand on the hilt of his sword at all times, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"Do you need to stop and rest Genis?" Colette asked kindly, a smile on her face. Although she was carrying the least amount of stuff in her bag, the desert sun still caused a few drops of sweat to drip down her porcelain skin.

"No thank you Colette, I'm fine," Genis told his friend, however his face said the exact opposite. "I just wish the sun wasn't so hot," he continued as he wiped the sweat from his forehead again.

"I warned you that the trip would be difficult Genis," Raine told her little brother. She walked just a little bit ahead of him, sandwiching Colette between herself and Kratos to best protect the young Chosen in case of an attack. She held her staff in one arm and an old looking book in the other. In her bag she carried all of the groups healing items such as elixirs and gels as well as all of her personal items.

Colette looked at Genis with a worried glance. "Mr. Kratos is it alright if we take a short break?" she asked sweetly. The mercenary ran his free hand through his hair, as if pondering the idea.

"…Very well, but only for a few minutes," Kratos finally answered. Genis immediately let out a sigh of relief as the large bag he had been carrying landed on the sandy ground with a loud thud. Genis then landed on the ground next to his bag in the same manner. Colette couldn't help but giggle at his childish behavior. Raine simply shook her head, but had a faint smile on her face.

It didn't take Lloyd long to decide that Triet wasn't a very eventful or interesting place. He most defiantly didn't need four days of mindlessly wandering around the town to figure that out. He did discover that unlike in Iselia, some towns had ruthless criminals, gang ridden areas, and some homeless people. He figured that due to the mana in Sylvarant slowly ebbing away, many places were becoming uninhabitable, driving many out of work, out of their homes, and into desperation.

Lloyd wished he could do something for them, but there was nothing he could do. Trying to shake the depressing thoughts from his head, Lloyd headed towards the town's gate hoping to find Colette's group, or at least someone who had seen them. The town had only one gate, so it would be highly unlikely that he would miss anybody.

One group that Lloyd had managed to stop seemed very different compared to other travelers. This group traveled in a large caravan, driven by four horses and its driver. From behind Lloyd could see three kids playing with an acorn of some kind, none like he'd ever seen before. Two women were talking amongst themselves on the large wagon while another man, younger than the driver read a book.

"Um, excuse me," Lloyd spoke to the driver. The man looked over in his direction then smiled at the boy.

"Why hello there young man, what can I do for you?" the man asked with a cheery smile.

"I was just wondering, did you by chance see the Chosen's group on your way here? They should be heading here from Iselia," Lloyd spoke.

The driver looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm sorry lad, but I don't recall seeing any other groups out there. Although, we're coming from Izoold, so I don't we would have seen them anyway," The man said with a hearty laugh. "You see, me and my family are researchers," he explained.

Lloyd cocked an eyebrow but continued to listen as the man explained. "We travel everywhere we can get to and study the life that lives there. Plants, animals, monsters, you name it, we've most likely seen it!" the man said with a large grin.

"Look!" Genis cried out in joy. "It's Triet! We made it!" he said excitedly. Raine smiled at her little brother. Colette smiled at Genis then turned her attention back towards the desert town ahead of them.

"Maybe Lloyd is there," she said with a hopeful tone in her voice. Colette quickened her pace towards the town, and was quickly joined by Genis. The two adults quickly shared a glance with each other before following after the children.

The closer they got to the sandy walls of the small town, the clearing the settlement came to be. Suddenly Colette came to a dead stop, startling Genis who was just behind her.

"Colette, what's wrong?" Genis asked, as he watched his friend worriedly. He was puzzled when Colette brought a hand up to her heart and a few stray tears leaked from her eyes.

She felt her heart stop. A grateful smile swept across her face. Colette realized Genis asked her a question. She tried to give a proper response but only a quiet whimper could escape her lips. Unable to contain her joy any longer she ran towards the boy who stood at the entrance to the settlement as fast as her legs could carry her.

Although she almost tripped once or twice, she didn't notice it. The young Chosen's vision was focused solely on the boy ahead of her. He seemed deep in conversation with whoever was driving the large wagon at the entrance, but she didn't mind, Colette was just so glad he was safe.

Finally, when she deemed she was close enough, she called out, "Lloyd!" with all the joy and happiness she could muster.

The boy in question just barely had enough time to turn his head towards the girl approaching him before he was pounced on. Both of them fell back into the sand. Lloyd could hear the wagon driver chuckle at the two of them before continuing on his way.

Lloyd could feel his face heat up as Colette pressed her form up against him and hugged him so tightly he thought she would hug the life straight out of his body. Then his angelic hearing picked up the irregular breaths she took and the quiet sound of sobbing through his tear stained shirt. "It's good to see you too Colette," Lloyd spoke as he finally returned her embrace.

The blond girl nestled and shifted herself to fit better in his arms. Though her face was stained with tears, the smile she wore on her face was genuine. "Lloyd, I was so worried! When I heard that the Desians attacked the village, I…I..," Colette tried to explain as more tears came to her eyes.

"Shh, it's alright," Lloyd told her. He held her closer, and Colette responded by holding him tighter as well, nuzzling him with affection "I'm he-."

"Lloyd and Colette sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Genis began singing while struggling to contain his amused laughter. The two teens shot up from the sandy ground faster than Genis would have thought possible, but the deep red flush on Colette's face, and Lloyd turning around trying to hide his own blushing face was all Genis needed to go into hysterics of laughter.

A loud whine followed by a flash of green and white fur blew past both Genis and Colette, and talked the young swordsman back onto the ground. "Noishe!" Lloyd called out half-heartedly. "Get off of me," he said in-between fits of laughter as the large dog like creature began to lick Lloyd's face and wag his tail happily. Eventually Lloyd managed to wrestle the arshis off of him.

"Lloyd," a calm voice said, causing the young swordsman to turn around. Lloyd saw Raine approach him. The professor stopped just in front of him, studying his form as if analyzing him. "No serious injuries I see, good," Raine said. Suddenly she hit him upside the head with one of her books. "Don't ever do anything so foolish again, do you hear me!" Raine scolded in a motherly tone." You had us all very worried," she said to Lloyd in a much calmer voice.

"Sorry Professor," Lloyd said as he rubbed the now tender spot of his head. Raine studied him a bit more, as if going across thoughts through her head, and then she walked off towards the inn. Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd saw Kratos look him over then gave him a "We'll talk later" look.

Genis followed his older sister and Kratos towards the inn to check out some rooms, leaving only the young Chosen and the dual swordsman. Colette continued to watch Lloyd with her cerulean eyes as they glistened with happiness. Once Genis was inside she grappled the boy in another hug. This time Lloyd manage to keep his balance rather than falling on the ground again.

"Lloyd, I was so scared you had been hurt, or that-" Colette was cut off.

"You dork," Lloyd said while ruffling the top of her head with one hand. "I'm fine, so don't worry about it!" Lloyd said as he gave her his trademark goofy grin.

Colette gazed up at him, as if in a trance induced by his grin. Her mouth turned up in a smile and she nodded enthusiastically. "R-right, I'm sorry," she said as she returned his grin and let go of the boy.

"Stop saying sorry for everything," Lloyd half teased. He turned his attention to the inn where the rest of the group was waiting for them.

"Oh, ok! I'm sorry," Colette replied. Lloyd left out an audible sigh but continued going towards the inn. Colette gave her silent thanks to the goddess Martel that her Lloyd was safe. After allowing the breeze from the wind to blow past her, Colette joined her friends at the inn.

"So there are only two rooms available?" the two teens heard Kratos say to the innkeeper.

"Alright, we'll take them," Raine said with a sigh as she ran one of her hands over her face. Once the group paid for their rooms, the innkeeper graciously handed over two sets of room keys. "Genis, you'll be staying with me," the teacher said. "Colette you'll stay with Lloyd, on second thought, Genis you stay with Lloyd, Colette you're with me," Raine decided after watching the two teenagers walk in. "Kratos, where would you prefer to bunk?"

"I'll be fine," Kratos spoke calmly.

"Actually Professor, Colette can take my room," Lloyd said. Raine looked away from Kratos to look at the boy.

"Lloyd, we only have two rooms," Raine tried to explain.

"Three," Lloyd clarified. "I checked out a room and waited for you guys here. I'll bunk with Kratos and Colette can take my room," the young swordsman repeated.

"Very well then, Kratos do you have any objections?" Raine asked. The mercenary shook his head. "Alright then, is it alright with you Colette?"

The Chosen had gained tainted cheeks at the idea. '_Me, sleeping in Lloyd's bed?' _the thought rolled over in her head. Her cheeks gained a deeper blush as the suggestion led to a plethora of darker thoughts. "Y-yes, I don't mind!" she squeaked. Lloyd looked at her, confused for her strange behavior. Kratos watched her with weary eyes.

'_He's too close to her,' _he warned himself. He watched as Lloyd casually handed over his room keys after getting his stuff out of the room.

After getting situated in their room, Kratos looked through the window and saw the sun going down. He turned back to his son who had a condensed form of mana collected in his arms.

"_Sacred Powers, I call upon the servant of the Holy Spirit to guide my heart and soul to protect the dreams and hopes of the future; __**Divine Guardian**__,__" _Lloyd chanted in the angelic language. The blue mana twisted and churned itself until it took the crude shape of a bird. Kratos was unable to identify the bird as it seemed to be only half formed, almost ghastly. The mana had taken a more silver color. The crudely misshapen bird took flight from the young angel's hand and flew out through the window. The boy watched the bird's movements until it was out of his sight with a smile.

Then sensing his father's eyes bearing into him, Lloyd turned to face his father. "Hey dad," he said in an almost awkward fashion.

"What was that?" Kratos asked.

"Huh? Oh! The bird? That's my guardian spirit. It will do anything I tell it to, as long as it has enough mana to do so," Lloyd explained. Kratos obviously was hoping for a more in-depth explanation, but that could wait for another day. "I sent it to watch after Colette."

"Oh?" Kratos asked. Lloyd shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"I figured you'd want an explanation for me running off like that all those years ago, and it may take some time to finish," Lloyd clarified. A questioning look from Kratos prodded the boy to continue. "I don't really feel comfortable talking hear, someone might over hear us."

"I see, then let's go somewhere more comfortable," Kratos said as he opened their bedroom door. Lloyd led the way out, and was quickly followed by the seraph.

Colette was unable to fall asleep, she knew why, but there was nothing she could do. She could try to wash the thoughts from her head, but much to her embarrassment they kept returning. She felt totally awkward sleeping in Lloyd's old room, especially in his bed. '_A good Chosen does not defile her body with acts of lust or greed. A Good Chosen does not harbor any sinful thoughts. A good Chosen does not love, love is an earthly attachment that must be removed,' _the blond reminded herself.

But Colette was only human; of course she would have sinful thoughts every now and again, especially thoughts of the brunette swordsman. She kept imagining a fantasy where she and Lloyd would be sharing a bed together, living together, and having a family together…

'_No!'_ the young Chosen screamed out in her mind, tears threatening to spill from her cheeks. Such thoughts were only those obtainable in her fantasies, no matter how much it hurt her. Colette knew full well that she could not love; she knew full well that she would have no chance to have a family. Not so long as she was the chosen anyway, but that was already set in stone, the crystal attached to the base of her neck was proof of that.

But it still hurt her more than any wound possibly could. Forcing herself to try and rid herself of such thoughts, she diverted her attention out the window, where a quick bolt of light caught her eye. Rising from the bed she looked out the window trying to spot the source of the strange light.

Across the sandy street from her, no _Lloyd's_ room sat a ghastly silver bird on top of the tarp covering one of the many merchants' stalls.

The bird seemed to beckon to her, it called her although not though sound, but she could feel as if the bird was tugging at her. Quickly turning from the window, she pulled her stockings on, buckled her boots, and threw her ceremonial dress on over her night gown. She paused only to make sure her chakrams were attached to the clip on the back of her dress.

She was careful not to wake the others, especially Raine who was sharing a room right next door. Holding onto the rail on the side of the wooden steps, Colette made sure she didn't fall and make any unnecessary noises.

Once outside she quickly darted to the other side of the building, and to her amazement the bird was there, as if waiting for her. She cautiously approached the bird. However, once the young Chosen was within ten yards or so, the bird took off and landed on another stall just further down the alley.

Her curiosity getting the best of her, Colette continued to follow the bird, wanting to know where it would lead her.

"Alright, this seems like a good spot," Lloyd decided after heading a good deal away from the inn and moving towards the large oasis in the center of the town. Kratos accepted his son's decision and eagerly waited for his no doubt lengthy explanation.

Yuan sat at his desk, Yggrassil had reacted exactly as Yuan had expected him to. He was furious that Yuan had taken a book from the archive, but he could deal with that. The blue haired seraph was proud though, to have prevented the insane leader of Cruxis from making a monumental discovery about Lloyd.

Everything seemed to be making sense now, Lloyd's wings, being able to talk to Martel, Martel's crazy mission, Anna's death during childbirth; it was amazing that someone didn't piece this strange set of coincidences together earlier.

He suspected that the only one who really knew just what Lloyd was other than the goddess Martel was his mother, Anna, but the secret died with her, for Kratos was not allowed to see his wife while she was delivering Lloyd.

Yuan had to keep this a secret from everyone; Lloyd's life depended on it. If Yggrassil found out Lloyd was a true angel, the kind that the deranged lunatic had been trying to breed for nearly four thousand years, he would most likely trap the boy, and use him for his own personal purposes.

It must have been a total fluke, or divine intervention. Because Lloyd has the same blood as Martel, an ancient descendant, a part of an ancient order, Lloyd was an Angel of Martel.

**Okie dookie, there's chapter 12!**

**Hope you all like it! **

**For the record: "**Any underlined dialog is the Angelic Language," whist **"Any bold face is casting."** So by combining the two, you cast in the angelic language.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 13**

Watching his son try to deal with his nervous anxiety, Kratos couldn't help but share the awkward feeling in his gut. He followed Lloyd to the edge of the oasis and took a seat next to him on the sandy shore. "So, where should I start?" Lloyd asked rhetorically.

"From the beginning would be reasonable," Kratos responded just as rhetorically. Lloyd smirked at the reply.

"Well, I guess the reason I left was-"Lloyd started.

"Did you feel uncomfortable in Welgaia?" Kratos interrupted.

"Well, yeah but-"Lloyd was cut off again.

"Why didn't you tell Yuan or me?" Kratos asked.

"There was no-" Lloyd tried to speak, becoming thoroughly agitated by the interruptions.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have taken you to see the worlds," Kratos said. "I was so afraid I thought you'd been killed. Why didn't you tell me anything!" Kratos asked, his fatherly instincts getting the better of him as the pain he'd been repressing came forth.

"I'm trying to tell you, but you keep interrupting me!" Lloyd yelled in his defense.

Kratos froze, realizing that he had been bombarding the boy with the questions that burdened him so much that he hadn't even let the boy speak. "I'm sorry, continue," Kratos said as he regained his composure.

"First off, yes Welgaia kind of freaks me out, there's no life there," Lloyd said as he scratched the back of his head.

"There's life on Welgaia, the angels do not die, nor do they fight unless ordered to do so," Kratos interjected.

"That's not what I meant. I mean there's no welcoming feel to it; it's just cold and devoid of life. The angels just wander around not thinking or doing anything unless being told to do so," Lloyd said as he wrapped his arms around himself as if to shelter himself from a blizzard.

"So that's why you left?" Kratos asked with confusion all over his face.

"A little bit," Lloyd admitted. Kratos raised an eyebrow and prompted his son to continue. "Lady Martel is very frail, I'm afraid that the Great Seed won't survive for much longer," he said. "When I found out I asked if there was anything I could do to help her. Lady Martel has been like a mother to me ever since Mom…" Lloyd trailed off.

Kratos watched his son carefully as if the boy would disappear right in front of him. He noticed how much respect Lloyd showed for the goddess. '_Lady Martel has been like a mother to me,' _the words rang in his head. The rush of sadness of his late wife hit the mercenary hard.

Watching his father tense, Lloyd shifted the topic of the conversation. "So Lady Martel told me about the Chosen system that Mithos-"

"Lord Yggrassil," Kratos corrected.

"-set up, and how it was related to her, so I vowed to help her and protect the Chosen," Lloyd continued as he ignored the correction. "In my rush to go, I guess I forgot to bring a map, or set in coordinates because when I used the teleporter system It just randomly warped me to somewhere in Sylvarant." Lloyd rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously at his rather immature act.

"You also forgot to tell me," Kratos said his eyes narrowing at his son. Lloyd shook his head.

"There was no time, and I know you wouldn't let me go," Lloyd replied. "After all, you never did let me have a cookie after dinner, so why would you let me go on some crazy adventure in a world I've never seen?"

Lloyd's observation made Kratos chuckle. "At least you had the foresight to take Noishe with you," he said. Lloyd nodded.

"I'm glad I did too," Lloyd said. Kratos raised an eyebrow and Lloyd began to tell his tale.

_"I hope this works," Lloyd spoke with his young childish voice. A boy no older than five stood next to a large dog like creature covered in a thick green and white fur coat. As the two of them stepped onto the warp panel, the mana glyphs underneath them glowed as it registered their presence. Gathering a bit of his mana, Lloyd used it to activate the panel, sending himself along with Noishe to an unknown destination. _

_ 'Please work,' the boy prayed as he keeps repeating the name of the small town he was told to find, Iselia. A strong light engulfed the two of them as the mana carried them away. _

_ Out in the middle of a small clearing in a forest, next to a small pond, a ball of cerulean blue light appeared. Mana glyphs, scored in the Angelic Language were rotating all over the sphere, creating an outer level of the sphere. When the sphere ruptured in an explosion of a brilliantly blue light, the small angel and his arshis companion fell to the grassy ground._

_ Quickly letting his advanced eyes adapted to the extreme change in light, the boy looked around. "Uh oh," he said to himself. They had appeared right in the middle of a pack of napping, wolves. The crazed dogs looked thin to the bone, some rib cages shone on some. Startled, the boy's wings had erupted from his back, causing the wolves who had not noticed them before all awoke to the flashing of the calm cerulean blue wings emanating from the boy's back. _

_ With a hungry, ferocious growl the wolves saw not a young angel, but rather supper. Noticing the danger, Noishe quickly used his powerful legs and claws to tare at the roots of a dying tree. The tree first began to list to the side before crashing into the ground giving the arshis the precious time he needed._

_Noishe grabbed the young angel by the hem of his shirt and with a mighty swing of his jaw tossed the boy onto his back before running like never ran before. Noishe understood the importance of his young master's mission, and knew just how terrible the wrath of his elder master would be if he found out his son became the dinner of some pitiful wolves. But more than that, Noishe had informally adopted Lloyd as if he were a puppy. _

Kratos was left completely shocked, half grateful that the arshis was able to think quickly on the spot, the other half wanting to reprimand his son his carelessness. "Lloyd," Kratos have growled. But the young angel would not let him continue as he continued in his explanation.

"After Noishe ran for a bit, he began to become tired, and the wolves started catching up to us. When they did Noishe fought to protect me, but in my fear I froze up. This one wolf, the pack leader I guess, came up to me, and cut me up at my chest, the pain was terrible, and before I knew it, the wolves were dead. I later realized that I had killed the wolves using _Judgment," _Lloyd continued.

Kratos was astounded; his son had cast _judgment _at such an early age. The spell was probably one of the most powerful Kratos knew, and he felt a rush of pride for his son. "Then I realized that some people had found me, and that's when I first met up with the priests from Iselia, they introduced me to Colette, and we became friends straight away," he heard his son finish. Watching his son with a wary eye at the mention of the young Chosen's name, Kratos spoke.

"Be careful Lloyd," he said calmly. Lloyd turned to face the seraph. "You never know what could happen on this journey."

"I vowed to protect her, and I will protect her," Lloyd countered, rising up onto his feet, a confident look in his eyes. "Uncle Yuan taught me spells, and how to fight and-!" Lloyd quickly shut his mouth, realizing that he just unintentionally sold his godfather out.

"Yuan knew you were here!" Kratos almost roared. Lloyd nodded grimly.

"He only found out a few years ago though," Lloyd said to try and defend the blue haired seraph. "I made him promise not to tell you I was here," he added.

"Lloyd, I thought you died! Why shouldn't I have known?" Kratos asked disappointment more apparent in his voice than anger.

"Because I know that if you knew I was in Iselia, you'd come and drag me back to Derris Kharlan! I could afford to let you do that, not when I had to stay and protect Colette!" Lloyd argued.

"You're too attached to her Lloyd; don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. You know how this journey will end," the seraph said calmly as he rose to his feet. Lloyd only fumed at his father as he watched the seraph begin to walk back towards the inn. "Come on Lloyd, the others may have noticed our disappearance.

Reluctantly Lloyd followed and let loose a sigh of frustration. '_What feelings are everyone talking about!'_ Lloyd roared out of frustration in his head. He heard Martel giggling and mentioning something about him being dense, only frustrating him further.

* * *

It was as if the bird had hypnotized the young blond Chosen as she absent mindedly followed the bird through the many streets of the sandy town. Colette was fully aware of what she was doing, but she failed to remember the way she was going.

Finally deciding to stop, she made sure to memorize the location of the oasis, which had said earlier was in the center of the town. As she took a glance, she could just barely make out the shapes of Lloyd walking in the distance, the white and blue of his robes made him stand out.

Colette thought it was cute that he wore the same design as her on his clothes, and took what pride she could when the older women of her village said how cute they were when they matched. Allowing a smile to grace her face, she turned back to the bird after watching the boy disappear behind a building. '_I wonder what Lloyd is doing up so late,'_ she said to herself as she followed the bird around another corner.

The blond Chosen stopped as she watched the bird perch itself on top of a purple tent a purple tent. The ghostly bird, made of a swirling silver white light that gave the hollowed out bird its shape, stood on the rim of the entrance, and watched the girl, as if motioning her to go inside.

Colette understood what the bird was silently telling her. Quickly making sure she still had her chakrams attached to the back of her dress, Colette made for the entrance. The bird glided down and landed on her shoulder as she went inside.

Suddenly, with the bird on her shoulder, she felt protected, as if Lloyd was standing right next to her. With newfound reassurance, she moved aside the thick clothe door.

Colette was surprised when she saw that several lit candles throughout the inside of the large tent provided plenty of light for the surprisingly small room. Furthermore, it seemed as if a woman was waiting for her, she had long hair, and wore a simple dress. On the other side of the counter that separated them, Colette saw the woman holding a crystal ball.

She had heard tales from adventurers who would occasionally stop at the Church for their pilgrimage. She heard all sorts of tales, from epic battles with ferocious monsters, or small skirmishes with Desian scouts, to basic news. However, Colette was always fascinated by the fortune telling stories. Seeing this as her chance she eagerly approached the fortune teller.

"Um, excuse me," Colette spoke just barely above a whisper. The woman looked up, her smart, observant eyes studying her figure.

With a grin the woman placed her crystal ball on the pedestal set aside for it. "I almost mistook you for that young man who came in here a few days ago," she spoke in a sweet calm voice. Colette blinked twice in confusion. "But your mana signature is far different than his," she added. "I think it's cute that you both wear matching clothing."

Colette tried to hide the blush forming on her face. "I'll make the same offer I made to your friend, I'll give you a free reading," the teller spoke. Colette quickly smiled and nodded her head energetically.

"Thank you very much!" Colette said with a respectful bow. The blond quickly took a seat at her side of the counter, and looked eagerly towards the teller.

"Now then, if you would please place your hands on the crystal ball," the woman said. Colette nodded and quickly placed the tips of her fingers on the ball. "Your whole hand dear," the fortune teller told Colette with a light giggle.

"Oh! Sorry," Colette sorry as she placed her palms on the ball. Colette watched as the sphere had taken a purple hue as it glowed a vibrant pink. The teller studied the ball, as if reading an invisible script. Her features contorted as she watched the series of events.

Colette continued to watch the crystal ball, unaware of the teller's facial features. "Young one?" the woman asked causing the blond to look up.

"I already know about my fate, I am the Chosen," Colette said sadly, he eyes drifted towards the ground. "I just hope I don't fail, I want Lloyd to live in the peaceful world that I create for him," Colette said with a loving smile as she stroked the silver bird on her shoulder.

"…Then you have nothing to worry about," the teller said after watching the ball for a second before returning to the Chosen. "You're a brave girl," the she said with a smile on her face. Then her attention turned towards the bird as she saw it for the first time. "What a pretty dove," she added with another smile.

"Thank you," Colette said as she rose from the chair. She bowed respectfully and turned to leave. As the teller watched the girl exit behind the tarp, she looked back at the crystal ball.

'_How could I have told her? If I told her what would happen to the boy, she would never forgive herself,' _she said to herself.

* * *

After getting lost as soon as she left the tent, Colette let the small bird lead the way back to the inn. Ever since the teller had identified the bird as a dove, Colette began to see the resemblance in the birds shifting form.

It took only a few minutes to reach the inn, as she decided to run after the bird instead of walking. When she arrived at the inn, she saw that Noishe was sleeping happily in the stables provided for him, with fresh bales of hay stacked up on one side, and a pile laid out for the creature to sleep on.

With a smile Colette walked over and pet Noishe just behind the ear, just how he liked it. Colette giggled at his whine when she stopped. As the Chosen approached the inn door, she made certain she was quiet.

Gently she turned the knob and pushed the door open. The only light in the building came from the moon shining through the doorway. The inn keeper had long since gone to bed, turning his lamp off, so the large, dark inn appeared empty. As she quietly tip toed her way inside, her clumsiness got the better of her as she tripped on the door step.

Quickly preparing for her emanate meeting with the floor boards, Colette closed her eyes as she fell forward. But she felt no contact with the floor. Cracking her eyes open, Colette saw a hand holding hers, keeping her from falling. She suddenly became afraid that she was in trouble for being out so late at night on her own.

"You dork," a familiar voice said. Colette's fear was washed away as it was replaced with sudden joy. A smile appeared on her face as she giggled softly.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to restrain her giggles. They only got worse as she heard the boy's over exaggerated sigh. "Lloyd, what are you doing up so late?" Colette said to the boy who stood beside her.

"I should ask you the same thing," Lloyd replied with a shake of his head, but the grin on his face made Colette smile again. "I couldn't sleep," Lloyd said. Noticing Colette's worried gaze, he quickly turned around. "I'm just anxious," he said.

"For the journey? I'm sure it'll be fun!" Colette reassured him. But Lloyd shook his head.

"I'm worried about you. The seals, we don't know what to expect, what if-"Lloyd was cut off.

"Don't worry about that sort of stuff ok?" Colette said. She walked back outside the inn, towards the stable where Noishe was. "After all, look at Noishe, even know with the world resting on our shoulders, he can still relax and be at peace."

The large green and white dog gave an audible whine as he moved to make room for the two of them. Grinning, Lloyd led Colette inside the stable where they sat down, leaning against the arshis's warm fur.

Together they sat in the silence of the right in each other's company as they watched and pointed out constellations of stars in the sky. After a while, Lloyd noticed that Colette had become quiet, when he turned to face her, he couldn't help but smile at her. She had fallen asleep using his shoulder as a pillow, wrapping her arms around him while leaning her back up against Noishe and the hay.

Lloyd carefully picked some of the loose hay out of her blond hair, making sure not to wake the angel to be. '_I'll wake her up in the morning,' _he said to himself.

If Raine caught the two of them outside, alone, at night, and covered in hay, then Martel's fury would be nothing compared to the teacher, especially since Kratos had some "business" to go take care of.

* * *

Yuan sat in his office in Welgaia, know that he knew Kratos and Lloyd were bound to meet up and knowing Kratos was going to come for his blood Yuan prepared as best he could for the inevitable argument.

The blue haired seraph was not disappointed when he saw the red haired seraph step into his office, a furious look on his face.

"May I help you Kratos?" Yuan asked calmly.

* * *

**So ends Chapter 13**

**I'm really looking forward to the completion of the tethe'alla arc in the OVA just gatta wait for the English subs! **

**Comments, Questions, all feedback is welcomed and encouraged! So don't be shy!**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 14**

The first thing Kratos did as he stepped into Yuan's office was draw his sword. Now, with his blade aimed precisely at the blue haired seraph's neck. "Yuan, you knew where my son was?" Kratos asked menacingly. Yuan sighed before rising from his desk. He set the files he was looking over back into their folder and closed it.

"Yes, I found him a few years ago, so what?" Yuan replied daringly. Kratos only growled in response.

"And you didn't even think to tell me?" Kratos asked angrily.

"What would you have done if I told you?" Yuan asked sharply. Kratos hesitated for a moment, his blade dripping a few inches towards the ground.

"I would have-"Kratos started after a short moment.

"Rushed to go see him and bring him back here," Yuan finished for his fellow seraph. "That's exactly what you would have done; don't even try to deny it. And by doing so you would have not only would you have compromised Martel's mission, but you would have risked your own son's life," Yuan explained calmly.

"Yuan, what are you talking about? How would bringing Lloyd home endanger him? If anyone is endangering him, it's you by letting him stay out there for so long! Lloyd is not only a seraphim like us, but he is Martel's Voice, Cruxis needs him, I need him," Kratos rebuked. Yuan shook his head; turning around Yuan pulled a different file from his desk and handed it to his best friend. "What is this?" Kratos asked.

"Read it," was all Yuan replied. Kratos reluctantly opened the folder and began till mill through the contents.

"This… this is-"Kratos was too shocked for words.

"Lloyd's progress ever since I began training him, I hope you will be able to better tune his swordsmanship, after all, you are better at close combat. I included a few memory gems so that you may see some of his progress more personally.

"Yuan, this is…" Kratos couldn't even begin to thank the seraph enough. However Yuan's hand stopped any further words.

"Your welcome, I thought you would like that," Yuan said. "Also, I would appreciate it if you would not let Lloyd know I did that." Kratos responded with a nod. "Now then, if you'll excuse me," Yuan said as he gathered some of his more personal files and made to leave his office. "Some of us actually have work to do rather than running around on vacation," he added as he left his office, passing Kratos on the way.

Kratos couldn't help but smirk. '_Vacation? Maybe, but not right now,'_ he mused to himself. He shifted his gaze to one of the many small crystals lying in a small case at the bottom of the folder. Carefully retrieving one of them he held the fragile gem in his fingers.

He released a small flow of his mana into the gem, causing it to light up. Suddenly the memories that Yuan had placed into the gem came rushing through his mind, as if they were downloading them onto his brain.

When the memories stopped flashing, Kratos felt slightly dizzy. Deciding it would be unwise to activate more than one gem at a time would be unwise, he carefully placed the fragile gem back in its appropriate spot before putting the folder in his own personal wing pack.

"I have work of my own to get back to," Kratos mused to himself as began to warp back to Triet.

* * *

With a smirk on his face, Lloyd shifted his gaze to the stars above him. The stars shined so bright out here, with no trees blocking them from view. He could make out all of the constellations he could see, from the smallest to the largest. He was lost in the stars, their soft lights lighting up the sky, making the moon look insignificant. The light blues and whites mixed together against the dark blue sky in such a magnificent manner, making the sky look like a massive collage of water paints painted to bring out the moon's shine and then make it almost insignificant against the rest of the sky's beauty.

However, a small happy content purr from the sleeping girl next to him broke Lloyd from his trance. Shifting his gaze to Colette, he couldn't help but smile. He heard Noishe quietly say something in his own weird language of whines. Oh, how he wished he could speak Noishe, it would make his life so much easier.

Realizing it would be impossible, Lloyd decided that instead he would tuck Colette in. '_She must have been really tired,' _Lloyd mused to himself.

"_Of course she was, she _really _cares for you," _Martel spoke to him, emphasizing her words.

_"What do you mean? I know she cares for me; we're best friends! But still-"_Lloyd replied before being cut off by the Goddess's giggles.

Picking the young Chosen in his arms, Lloyd decided to carry her back to the inn bridal style. He noticed that her arms had mysteriously managed to move from his shoulder, to wrapping around his torso. Colette began to absentmindedly nuzzle the boy as she rode in his arms.

Lloyd noticed by the texture of her dress that she was in her night gown, and it brought a question to his mind. '_If she was getting ready for bed, then why did she go outside?' _he asked himself. He absent mindedly re-opened the inn door as quietly as he could, rather skillfully as well considering he was still holding the Chosen. He quietly snuck up the stairs without making a sound and entered Colette's room.

Gently setting her down on the bed, Lloyd removed the chakrams from their latch and placed them on the bedside table. He tucked the girl in and made to leave her room. "Good night Lloyd," he heard her mumble.

Freezing for only a second, he turned to see her blissful blue eyes staring back at him. "Good night Colette, sweet dreams," he added before exiting the room.

'_That was amazing!'_ Colette squealed to herself as she happily replayed the images of their time together in her head. She was so happy that she forgot how tired she was until she yawned rather loudly. "I guess sleep would be a good idea," she mused to herself. She looked towards the window, and once again saw the silver-white bird that took the shifting shape of a dove. Completely forgetting that she was sleeping in Lloyd's bed, Colette quickly fell asleep with a large smile on her face.

* * *

Kratos stood just outside the inn door as the sun began to rise over the horizon. He heard Noishe say something to him in his whining language. Over time Kratos had successfully learned to translate the Arshis's whines into words of the common tongue. "Is that so Noishe? I hope you kept an eye on them," he replied calmly.

The mercenary made his way inside. As he entered the inn, he could smell breakfast being cooked by the inn keeper and his wife. '_That means the others will soon be up, and then we will be on our way to the Fire Seal,' _he said to himself as he made his way to the room he was sharing with his son.

As Kratos predicted, the others soon woke up, himself and Lloyd being the first ones up, considering they did not sleep at all. They were then joined by Raine, and shortly after Colette and Genis followed after. Colette had the biggest grin on her face, and Genis couldn't help but have the urge to poke fun at her for it.

The group settled at the large table where breakfast was being served to their party."So Colette, what has you in such good spirits today? Do anything special last night?" Genis asked with a knowing smirk on his face, as he casually shifted his gaze towards Lloyd who had either not heard the two of them, or was just not really paying much attention. The Chosen's smile quickly faltered and an embarrassed blush swept across her face.

"Wh-what are you talking about Genis, I just had a great night's sleep, that's all!" Colette stammered desperately. She wasn't lying, after her "romantic" night with Lloyd under the stars, Colette slept soundly all through the night.

Raine wasn't paying much attention to the children's conversation either. Instead she was watching their two human companions. While Lloyd had managed to eat only half of a single pancake during the whole time they were sitting there, Kratos hadn't even so much as made an attempt to try and eat anything. The Professor didn't bother to say anything, but she did make a mental note of it.

Kratos looked over towards his son who was seated in between him and the Chosen, the latter of which was much closer than he was. He casually shifted his gaze to the two teens. '_I see, perhaps Lloyd is allowing himself to become attached to her to provide her some comfort during the journey, I just hope he knows where to draw the line,' _Kratos examined. He then looked towards Lloyd's plate.

Suddenly he realized the Half-Elf's eyes studying him. Realizing that he hadn't even made an attempt to look like he needed to eat as Lloyd had done, he reached for some pancakes. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as one of Raine's eyes lifted with amusement, or was it conviction, he couldn't tell.

* * *

Yuan sat behind his desk back at his base near Triet. Laid out before him was Kratos's family tree that he had burgled from the seraph's office in Welgaia. He traced the lineage from Lloyd all the way back to the first Duke Aruion, who was appointed his position centuries before the first Kharlan War began. The old document was very delicate, some parts having the edges of the paper ripped and torn. The paper adopted a sickly yellow color with age, but the ink was still visible and clear enough to read.

Unfortunately for the seraph, the Aruion Family Tree didn't have the answers he seeked. "Impossible," he muttered to himself as he realized the only other option available. "Anna," he whispered the name.

Kratos had picked his wife out from the humans among Kavar's Ranch, and a following squabble had Kvar removed from his position as Leader of the Grand Cardinals. But that was not important at the moment. He remembered Kratos telling him something about Anna's hometown being Luin, which would now be his next stop.

Regardless of how long his investigation would take, Yuan was determined to find out just how Lloyd was related to the Goddess Martel. Rolling up the family tree, Yuan figured it would be best to put it back before Kratos realized it was gone.

With an exhausted sigh, Yuan rubbed his temples; this whole ordeal was beginning to edge at his sanity. Yuan knew he had to find this information before Yggrassil, but working himself like a dog over this wouldn't get him anywhere. Even angels have their own limits, seraphim were no exception. "I guess Luin will have to wait," Yuan spoke as he made his way to his bed to rest and regain some of his energy.

* * *

Once the group was ready to proceed, they checked to make sure they had enough supplies to get them to the Fire Seal and back. They thanked the inn keeper for taking them in, especially when he gave them their money back when he found out they were the Chosen's group.

Lloyd felt his hand become slightly tingly. _'This key crest is probably going to give me a rash sense I don't use an exsphere,' _Lloyd reasoned as he absent mindedly rubbed his hand over the metal. Like everyone else in their group, Lloyd had his weapons at the ready, In case they ran into some violent monsters, or bandits.

Kratos stood at the head of the group now, He analyzed their new formation. He was at the head of the group, leading them to their next destination, Lloyd was right next to the Chosen, just in case she needed defending and Kratos would be unable to get there in time. Noishe was behind the teens, carrying most of the groups supplies and accessories. Raine was behind the Arshis, ready to cast items, or distribute items accordingly, and Genis was behind his sister ready to cast the magic he boasted as "the best in the whole village." '_If only he knew,' _Kratos mused to himself.

Shifting his gaze to the path ahead of them, they should reach the temple by sun down, there they planned to rest for the night, break the seal first thing in the morning, recover their strength, then return to town. It was a sound strategy, nothing could go wrong.

Suddenly as if he jinxed their luck, a volley of arrows shot at them from over the sand dunes around them. "Look out!" Kratos yelled. Raine used a protective barrier to protect herself, Genis, and Noishe. Lloyd lashed, and deflected all of the arrows heading for him and Colette, making the broken fragments land harmlessly in the sand. Kratos simply jumped out of the way of the arrows while determining the exact location they came from.

A group of at least twenty or so bandits came out of hiding behind the sand dunes. "Well well well, lookie what we have here, a group of travelers," the leader said, his voice deep and rough. He was a big buff man, with tanned skin, revealing that he must have grown up here in this desert. His men were similar in size and shape, but he stood out from the rest. The leader was the only one not equipped with a crossbow and dagger like his men were. Instead he had a sharp, blood stained cutlass as his weapon. He wore a simple vest, with tan silk pants and a white cloth wrapping around his head. His men wore simple clothes, but all of them had all of their faces covered except for their eyes.

"Hey boss, check it out, I bet that little flower over there is sweet and tender, and just waiting to be plucked," one of them said in a higher pitched tone, the lust in his voice was sickening.

"Alright, alright," the leader spoke again. "Kill the men, but leave the girls alive, they can provide us with some…_entertainment_ tonight," he laughed.

Colette whimpered as she hid behind Lloyd. Kratos backed up so that he and Lloyd sandwiched the Chosen between them. Raine and Genis, and Noishe quickly followed suit. The large dog covering Colette's right side, Raine her left, Kratos her Back, Lloyd her front, and Genis was right next to her.

"Damnit," Kratos cursed. He was over confident, and that led them straight into an ambush. The group quickly brandished their weapons as the bandits readied another salvo of bolts to fire. As soon as the leader gave the signal, all of the bolts were released at once.

Reacting instantly, Lloyd transferred some of his mana into his blades before slamming them into the ground as hard as he could. "**Beast!" **he yelled as the mana shot out and spread taking the shape of a lion's head. The mana created a shock wave that collided with the bolts, knocking them aside harmlessly. While everyone was distracted by the display, Lloyd used it to his advantage as he unleashed two waves of mana as if he was slicing the air itself. "**Double Demon Fang!**" he said. The two large waves of energy reached and felled four of the bandits.

A few of the bandits decided to get bold and instead of fighting at a range, brandished their daggers and charged forward. "**Fire Ball!" **Genis yelled as he fired three fireballs at some of the bandits still staying at a range. Raine caught one of the bandits upside the head with her staff, the sound of his neck snapping was sickening to her ears, but it was necessary for their survival. Kratos easily managed to parry and defeat all of the foes that rushed before him.

Looking to see that over half of his men already lay dead, the leader's face twisted into anger. "Damnit! Retreat for now!" he ordered. The bandits began to fall back and regroup with their leader before they too were slain. One of the bandits was not as lucky as Lloyd deflected his attempt at a thrust and slashed the bandit's torso before he had a chance to try again. Once the bandits retreated, Kratos kept a firm watch on the direction in which they headed.

The realization suddenly hit Lloyd as he felt queasy in his gut. _'I-I killed them,' _he said to himself. His body began to tremble. They had lives, and he ended them. They had memories, stories, thoughts, dreams, and he ended them in an instant as if they never existed. Lloyd fell to his knees, his face becoming pale. Yuan told him he would probably have to kill a lot in order to protect the Chosen, but he never knew it would be so hard.

Raines hand on his shoulder broke him out of his stupor. "Lloyd, it had to be done," the professor said as if she could read his thoughts. Lloyd just looked up at her, his face still pale. "If you would have let them live, they could have killed us, you did what you had to do," she continued.

"Lloyd," Kratos said. "If they survived, they would have tried to kill us, and most likely try to rape the Chosen and the Professor, would you have rather had that on your conscience?"

"Of course not!" Lloyd spat.

"Then do not let their deaths get the better of you," Kratos said sternly. "Compassion for your enemies will only lead to an opening in your defense, and they will take that opening. Your enemy is not as kind hearted as you are."

"Yeah," Lloyd said weakly. He got back up on his legs and cleaned his blades before returning them. Giving the fallen a quick prayer so that they may rest in peace, Lloyd rejoined the party. Looking at Genis, Lloyd figured that he had actually puked, and would need more time to get over it. Desians were one thing, but human beings?

Colette watched Lloyd the entire time; she ached, unable to do anything for him. She wasn't able to fight, the others didn't give her an opening to attack, and she couldn't help him, she had never killed anything before, the closest she came to that was bruising Lloyd when she tripped causing him to fall down a small flight of stairs back home. '_I'm so pathetic,' _she said mournfully to herself.

"Who were those guys anyway?" Raine asked.

"I think that was Ridly-the-Ripper, some of the people in Triet told me about a group of bandits led by him were ambushing small groups heading from Triet," Lloyd explained. "But everyone had said they were to the north of the town, towards the Ossa Trail."

"Do you suppose something is going on there that may have chased them out?" Raine asked.

"It is possible, but given their numbers, I doubt that is possible unless it was a large monster or a rival gang of thugs. The Triet Militia doesn't patrol the area, and the next closest town would be Izoold, but their forces would be spread too thin," Kratos said.

An eerie silence fell over the group for the rest of the day. By the time the sun had begun to descend below the horizon, The distant ruins of an old town became visible.

"There it is, the Triet Ruins, the Fire Seal," Raine said as the group came to a halt. Lloyd looked to his side and saw how nervous Colette was. She took a large gulp, and quickly took Lloyd's hand for support, not that he could blame her, today had been… difficult.

* * *

**Okie dookie! There's chapter 14, hope you enjoy it!**

**Comments, questions etc. I'm all ears!**

**Thank you! **


	15. Chapter 15

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 15**

The remains of the town which was the home to the Seal of Fire was about as inviting up close as it had seemed from a distance. The buildings were all destroyed mere shells rather than shelters. Most of the buildings were either missing walls, or ceilings. Some had large gaping holes spanning close to ten yards in diameter. All of the buildings were burnt or rotting away, just waiting to finally collapse.

The group of travelers that served to complete the Journey of World Regeneration had decided to camp there for the night so that when the sun rose the next morning, they could unlock the seal at their full strength. Noting the failing buildings lack of shelter and strength, the travelers decided to make camp in the center of town next to the remains of a once large fountain. After everyone had eaten their fill of dinner, and moved on to bed, Kratos volunteered to take the first shift of night watch, but Colette offered to take it instead. Although both Raine and Kratos both recommended that she get as much rest as possible, Colette was adamant in her decision and would not be moved. So the two adults reluctantly agreed, so long as the blond wake someone else after an hour to change shifts.

Colette sat on the ledge of the old dried up fountain's pool. She gazed up at the stars, as thoughts rolled across her mind. Her worst fears had been confirmed earlier that day, her friends would have to fight for her; they would be putting themselves in harm's way for her. Whether it is because of the Desians, monsters, or random bandits like those encountered earlier that day. '_If they got hurt because of me…' _Colette said to herself. She scanned across the members of her group, her eyes rested on Lloyd last, her gaze lingering, her eyes softening. '_I wouldn't be able to do this; this journey would lose its meaning for me.'_

A sudden motion almost made her jump from her seat. Lloyd stirred and rose, as if awaken by her gaze. Colette quickly shifter her gaze as his chocolate brown eyes met her cerulean blue, a pink embarrassed blush spread quickly across her face. As she silently prayed he had not seen her gaze on him. "You alright Colette?" she heard him ask her in a soft voice so as not to wake the others.

"Yeah, I'm alright Lloyd, are you? I-I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry if I," Colette started saying in an equally soft voice. Lloyd stood right in front of her.

"You dork, don't apologize for things that aren't your fault," Lloyd teased as he playfully squeezed her nose. As soon as he noticed the deep blush on her face his face immediately showed concern. "Colette, are you ok? Your face is all red!" Lloyd said as he placed his hand on her forehead to take her temperature. Only his actions caused her blush to deepen.

"Lloyd, I'm fine, really," Colette squeaked as she tried desperately to vanquish the blush from her face. She removed his hand from her face and patted the spot next to her, signaling for him to sit next to her. "So why are you up so late Lloyd?" she asked him, concern evident in her voice.

"Couldn't sleep," Lloyd replied. It wasn't a lie, he had in fact lost his ability to sleep just like his father had but, he had more pressing thoughts on his mind than to worry about 'sleeping.' "Too busy thinking about stuff."

"Those bandits?" Colette asked. She watched as his expression hardened.

"I killed them Colette. I-I'm no better than them. I'm a murderer," Lloyd spoke softly. The blond could hear the fear in the brunette's voice. "They had lives, memories, feelings… and I just ended them like they were nothing," Lloyd continued as he turned his head to the side, teeth gritting together, eyes forced shut.

Without a word, Colette wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a soothing hug. "No Lloyd you're not. I may not have been able to participate in the fight, so I may not have much room to talk, but…" she started. "I don't think you're a murderer. Murderers kill for the enjoyment they receive, but you, you fought to protect us; that's why you are not a murderer." Lloyd turned to see the blonds' face resting on his shoulder, beaming at him."Besides, if you didn't fight, they wouldn't have stopped killing, you served them justice, and I see nothing wrong with that."

Lloyd smiled at her. "Thanks Colette, I needed that," he said. Colette only beamed more at him. "So," Lloyd started as he gazed up at the stars. "Judging by the shifting of the moon's position, I believe your shift ended about an hour and a half ago," he told her playfully.

Colette merely blinked in confusion before looking up as well. The starlight, combined with the moon's reflection gave Colette an angelic glow about her. Lloyd took a moment to admire it. He watched her as she looked up at the stars, her face converted into one of curiosity. As he watched her, he felt a small warm feeling grow in his chest. He checked his mana flow throughout his body, no irregularities, so what was causing this warm feeling? However, the moment had ended almost as soon as it began. Colette tilted her head back down to meet his eyes, a small smile played across her lips as she spoke. "I guess so, wou-"she began speaking.

"I would love to take over for you," Lloyd answered before even letting her finish. Colette smiled at him again before giving him a quick hug. Lloyd watched as she rose from the fountain and returned to her sleeping mat. However, instead of lying down and going to sleep as he expected of her, she did something a little different.

Colette, draped in her blanket stood in front of him, that red on her face there once again. "Lloyd? D-do you mind if I rest on your shoulder again?" she asked very hesitantly, afraid of his answer. Lloyd's answer was simply him scooting over and patting the spot next to him.

With a bright smile Colette settled next to Lloyd before casting her blanket over him as well, resting against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his. "You're really warm and comfy," Colette muttered barely loud enough for him to hear. "Too comfy to be a murderer," she added. He could practically feel her face heating up, but he was too preoccupied with the return of the small glowing feeling inside of him. Perhaps they were both sick?

The sun had come earlier than Lloyd had expected, and the heat even sooner. Still, the sun washing over the ruins of the old buildings did provide some adequate shade that the group had been fortunate enough to have been enveloped by. Kratos rose the moment the sun had first risen over the horizon. He turned to Lloyd and gave him a disapproving look as he saw the Chosen sleeping on his shoulder.

Lloyd only returned his father's glare with a curious look. With a shake of his head, Kratos broke eye contact and went to scouting for the entrance to the seal. Raine soon woke and joined Kratos in searching for the seal's location, but in a different direction. Lloyd turned to the blond still using his shoulder as a pillow.

The warm feeling returned, just as potent as it was the night before. He couldn't help but watch as she slept peacefully on his shoulder of all places. She made a happy content noise that seemed almost like a purr as she snuggled deeper into his shoulder. He reasoned that the warmth of her body must have been making him warm. A child's laughter caught Lloyd's attention, turning his eyes back towards the camp.

"Geez, I swear I'm going wake up to you two kissing one of these days," Genis teased as he sat up in his sleeping bag. A shocked and perplexed look shot from the brunette's face. His swift reaction accidentally woke the blond from her sleep; however, she did not immediately reveal this to her "pillow."

"What are you talking about Genis?" Lloyd asked as he finally rediscovered his voice, a red flush spreading across his face. Lloyd received a skeptical look from Genis as a reply. "Colette and I aren't like _that_ or anything! We're just friends! How could you possibly think I liked her?"

With a huff Colette pushed Lloyd off the fountain before rising to her feet and storming off to go vent, he hands balled up into fists at her sides, and her eyes closed in annoyance. With a yelp, Lloyd landed fast first into the sand, getting a good mouthful of the ground earth. "Sorry, didn't know I was that unlikeable!" she spoke in a cold voice as she walked off.

Lloyd rose back up to his feet, spitting the desert sand out of his mouth. "Smooth Lloyd, really smooth," Genis jested. "That was probably the smartest thing you've ever done," he teased.

"Shut up Genis! Man, what did I even say?" Lloyd asked before getting ready to go after Colette.

"Um Lloyd, in full seriousness, I think you should really sit this one out," Genis said in a more sincere voice. "I'll go talk to her; you might just accidentally make things worse for yourself." After thinking about it for a moment, Lloyd agreed with a nod, and Genis went after Colette.

* * *

"Stupid Lloyd," Colette fumed as she absent mindedly kicked a small rock. She let her frustration get the better of her. How hard could it possibly be to get the object of your affection to see your feelings in more than a friendly manner? Martel knew she was trying, but even she has her limits to what she can and cannot do.

Colette was so busy fuming; she didn't even see Genis coming up behind her. "Hey Colette?" a voice said causing her to spin on her heels. She was thankful to see Genis instead of Lloyd. If it had been the latter, she didn't know what she would have done.

"Oh! Genis, it's you. I'm sorry, I thought you were Lloyd for a second," Colette said as she mentioned the swordsman's name with a mocking tone. She smiled at the half-elf.

"About that, I wanted to say I'm sorry," Genis said. Colette blinked in confusion.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" she asked.

"Well, you see, I noticed how attached you've become to Lloyd over the years, but he's too dense to see your crush on him," Genis started as he shifted his gaze towards the sand covered streets. Colette was about to try and deny his claims to her crush, but knew they would be pointless, so she let him continue.

"I-I wanted to try and help him see it by making jokes about you two being a couple and all, you know, try and lighten him up, but I think I may have scared Lloyd instead. I'm sorry Colette," Genis continued. "I felt like I owed it to him, I can't let Lloyd be all sad and moody because of me."

It was true, ever since the incident in Iselia, Lloyd had become more silent and solitary except when Colette was with him. Colette having picked up on his change of attitude had been trying to snap out him out of it while trying to show him her feelings. "I-I really didn't want him to take it the wrong way, but he's been so down ever since the village was attacked, and well, even though it was all my fault, Lloyd took all of the responsibility for it, and saved me twice because of it," Genis admitted as he sat down on the sand, crossed his legs and stared at the sand with a sad expression on his face.

"I," Colette started. "I never really heard what happened, I heard about what happened since the village got attacked, but I don't know what happened leading up to it," Colette stated as she sat down next to Genis and brought her knees to her face.

Genis cast another sad look at his friend before telling the story of Marble, how he had met her and how he smuggled food to her all the way until he was caught. Colette listened with upmost interest, to every single word he was saying. "… And then, when they took Marble and were going to whip her," he hesitated. "I couldn't stand it, so I attacked the Desians with magic, and before I knew it…"

"You broke the peace treaty?" Colette asked quietly, shocked at her childhood friends actions. Genis nodded solemnly.

"When they came out to get me, that's when Lloyd showed up with this strange glowing blue bird. I had never seen anything like it. It was like-" Genis was interrupted.

"A glowing bird made out of mana?" Colette asked.

"Yeah! Wait, how'd you know?" Genis responded. Colette brought her knees even closer to her face and sighed before continuing.

"Well, on my tenth birthday, I remember seeing this beautiful blue feather. It was unlike any kind of feather I'd seen before. It was almost like it was made from pure mana. It was so amazing and beautiful, I'll always remember it and I'm hoping to find the bird that has such beautiful feathers. And then, just the other night, there was this dove…" Colette explained.

"A dove? In the desert?" Genis asked skeptically.

"Yeah! This dove, it was like silver white, and kind of ghastly, kind of like it was incomplete or something led me across Triet to a fortuneteller's tent," she clarified. From there Colette explained how the dove let her to the fortune teller, how the teller had been able to identify the bird even when Colette couldn't, and then how it led her straight back to the inn where Lloyd was waiting for her.

"I wonder," Genis suddenly said, earning a questioning gave from Colette. "Well, Lloyd has a different sort of feel about him than most people do, I mean, his mana feels so dense, I think he can use magic, and this mystery bird kind of proves it."

"What do you mean?" Colette asked.

"Lloyd fought the Desians at the ranch with nothing more than the small blue bird and himself, and again at the village with a larger golden bird and himself," Genis said.

"But father and Grandmother said that Lloyd and Mr. Dirk fought the Desians back together!" Colette suddenly interrupted.

"I don't remember seeing Dirk there, unless he came after Lloyd sent Noishe after me to get me out of the village, but I distinctly remember these strange birds following his every order. Almost like they were servants or something," Genis continued.

"Some of the ancient scriptures did talk about those who could summon the power of the spirits to do their bidding by forming pacts with them," Colette suggested.

"This was different, the bird felt, almost exactly the same as Lloyd, not the way a summon spirit would, at least not according to the books. Also," Genis spoke in a much quieter voice. "I saw something else after I was out of the village. I looked back and saw the entire place engulfed in light, like there was a miniature sun in there."

Colette looked back off in the direction she'd left Lloyd in. She felt terrible now, she'd been so preoccupied with being close to him, that she'd completely forgot anything that he may have had to go through. '_Some Chosen I am,' _she mocked herself.

"I know Lloyd can use magic, but if he doesn't want to admit it, then I won't make him. Either he's just like Kratos, keeping secrets about his own abilities, or he doesn't even know about it yet and just goes with his instincts," Genis confirmed as he stood up. "But either way, there's nothing I can do about it without making him more upset."

Colette rose as well. "Well, I guess I did over react back there, I should probably apologize to-"Colette started.

"Oh! Genis, Colette, there you two are," Raine said as she spotted the two children. "Kratos found the entrance to the Seal, we are preparing to enter, are you ready Colette?" she asked. With a forced nod Colette answered.

"Yes," Colette said; her voice faint and frail. She rose to her feet, and followed Raine, with Genis not too far behind. "What about Lloyd and Mr. Kratos?" Colette asked.

"They're both waiting for us at the entrance, now let's go," Raine answered, not turning back to face the children.

"Oh, ok," Colette replied quietly.

"Don't worry Colette, I doubt Lloyd is angry with you," Genis started.

"But I pushed him," Colette said a little mournfully.

"Trust me; Lloyd isn't the type of person to hold a grudge. So don't worry about it," Genis said to the blonde. Colette nodded in understanding, but her face still shown with uncertainty.

* * *

"Dad! I'm telling you, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lloyd said in a loud whisper to the red haired mercenary. The moment Lloyd had found both Kratos and the professor; they seemed to have been in a heated discussion. Together the three of them set out to find the entrance to the seal. In only a matter of minutes Kratos had found it and signaled the other two.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," Kratos snapped in a quiet voice. Once they had found the entrance, Raine went to go retrieve her brother and Colette, leaving the two swordsmen alone. The moment Raine was out of hearing range, Kratos began his bombardment of chastising. "I can understand your developing hormones, after all every teenage boy goes through it, but the Chosen-"

"Dad seriously! What are you talking about!"

"Lloyden Aruion, you know full well the fate of the Chosen, it is wrong to get her hopes up like that, unless you want her to fail," Kratos scolded the boy. Kratos was now leading up against the side of a pillar lining the temple entrance, arms crossed, and eyes cold.

"Get her hopes up? What hopes? Of regenerating the world? How am I getting her hopes up?" Lloyd asked as he threw his hands up in exasperation as he turned away from his father. '_How am I going to stop the World Regeneration?' _Lloyd asked himself as his face fell from a scorn to one of helplessness. '_So long as Dad is here, I can't hope to take her by force, not by myself at least, Lady Martel, please help me…' _he prayed.

"Lloyd!" a voice said causing him to turn to see the Sages and Colette coming towards them. The latter of the three seeming to have a shy, almost embarrassed look about her as she silently made way towards him.

"Lloyd, I- I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't really mean to push you like that, and I didn't really-"Colette began as she shyly played with her fingers, finding the dirt interesting.

"You dork," Lloyd interrupted, causing the girl to look up, a surprised expression on her face as Lloyd began ruffling her hair. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I spoke without thinking, you're defiantly a likeable person," Lloyd said sincerely as removed his hand from the top of his head. He flashed her a grin that always found a way to make her heart melt.

Colette's eyes began to water up, a truly happy smile spread across her face as she gripped the brunette in a tight hug. Genis began to grin sheepishly at Lloyd, confusing the older of the children. Lloyd could practically feel his father's disapproving glare burning into the back of his head.

Lloyd could also see the expression on the professor's face. Surprise filled the elf's face as she raised one eyebrow and gave a soft smile. "Apparently something happened that I must have missed," she spoke calmly, analyzing the situation.

"We should proceed," Kratos suddenly said. "The seal lies directly ahead of us," he continued as he gestured to a small podium with almost crystal like surface. There was writing in the Angelic Language running across it.

The hand of the Chosen Lloyd read the tablet. Colette cautiously approached the small podium and hesitantly put her hand on the surface of the crystal like substance. Suddenly the red crystal bound to the base of her neck glowed in a reaction to the tablet, and then was suddenly silent.

The ground shook as part of the ground before them descended, revealing a basement like level of the temple that had been hidden since the last Chosen had failed. After taking a quick gulp, Colette carefully made her way down the stone steps, into the darkness, this was where her journey really started. The others silently followed behind her.

* * *

**For some reason, this chapter was harder for me to put together than the others v.v **

**Thought Genis deserved some screen time here, he's been kind of left out for a while…**

**Anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter, ok? **

**R&R!**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 16**

Dark and hot; that was the best way to summarize the seal already. Despite the torches lining the corridor, the light seemed to seep from existence. The stone walls, the polycarbonate, it all served to funnel the heat towards them. Colette couldn't help but have to constantly have to brush her long blond hair from her face so she could see. The heat made her sweat like mad, it her clothes all stick to her small frame and made her feel like she just got out of a lake. Other than herself, Genis also seemed to have been suffering from the heat. His clothes looked a couple of shades darker due to his sweat. His breathing seemed raspy, as if he were trying to cool off like Noishe was. His white spiky hair clung to his skin, just like hers was, but it gave him more of a comical feel. Having been raised in the Village of Iselia for most of his life, it was only natural that he would have adapted to the climate up north. The summer heat that they had grown up too was nothing compared to this.

But then again, neither Lloyd, Kratos, nor Raine showed any signs of being bothered by the heat. Raine would occasionally whip some sweat off of her face, but that was about it. The boys however didn't even have a bead of sweat trickling down their necks. The more she thought about it, the sillier her delusions seemed to her. Kratos was a traveling mercenary; he's probably traveled through the desert dozens of times, and had been at Triet waiting for her, he was probably used to the heat by now.

"Chosen, is something wrong?" Kratos asked, breaking the blond from her thoughts. She didn't realize that she had stopped. Colette turned back to see Kratos eyeing her warily, while Lloyd and Genis tried to pry Raine off of one of the polycarbonate pillars.

"No, nothing is wrong, sorry for making you worry," Colette replied with a shake of her head and a smile as she once again brushed her thick hair out of her eyes. She turned back to the dark, creepy, insanely hot path before her. The two boys managed to successfully pry the elder Sage from the pole, but not without getting smacked in the head and getting berated for being so rough around the ruins and how they could have broken something before she was able to examine it. The footsteps echoed all around them, enhancing the illusion of them walking into a deep smoldering chasm.

She was nervous, scared even. It wasn't hard for Lloyd to notice. He'd grown up with her nearby, she was his best friend, and he hers. It was only natural that he could read her like a book, and she knew he could. He knew that scared her too because she couldn't lie to him. Truth be told, Lloyd was scared too. His angel abilities let him stand the heat, let him see and hear where others could not, gave him the strength of ten boys his age, let him fly, use magic, and more. But none of that could help him with his problem, stopping the Journey of Regeneration before it was too late, especially with his father breathing down his neck. Martel had not spoken to him since Colette and the others found him, and that scared him even more. He was no kid anymore, but even still, her guidance was invaluable to him. Then there was the strange warm fuzzy feeling that he always got when the two of them were together, it was like he was getting allergic to her or something.

His father always seemed to be watching him too, especially when he was with Colette. He didn't understand. '_What does he mean by "Getting too close to the Chosen?" We're best friends; of course we're going to be close!' _Lloyd thought to himself. The boy turned his head from the ground he was looking at to see that the group had stopped in front of a large grey door. The large polycarbonate threshold had markings written in the angelic language, but they were so cluttered and jumbled in the darkness that Lloyd failed to decipher them.

Colette timidly reached her hand towards the door, and found it to be surprisingly icy cold, a strange contrast to the rest of the temple. The red Cruxis Crystal situated at the base of her neck gave a dull glow before going silent again. The large door shook, all of the markings lighting up as the enchantment on the door lifted. The massive doors slide to the side revealing a large platform surrounded by a large pool of lava. The red, orange glow given off by the magma gave the chamber a dark feel to it, with the dark black of the ceiling and the red around them, giving off the illusion of the abyss.

"That explains the heat," Genis grumbled as he once again whipped the thick sweat from his forehead. In the center near the back of the platform stood a large structure, its ornate design looked as though it was going to melt in the smoldering heat. The heat in the air distorted the group's vision, making everything seem almost blurry. The group cautiously followed Colette as she hesitantly approached the altar, Lloyd right next to her in case she tripped.

Suddenly, Colette's Cruxis Crystal went berserk as flames spewed forth from the scarlet gem. The flames raced all over the area, knocking Lloyd back from the blond. Genis ducked, as he avoided one of the possessed flames, Raine side stepped one, while Kratos deflected on with a perfectly timed strike with his sword. "What's going on!" Genis yelled out as he dived to avoid another one of the streaking flames. The flames gathered together just above the alter, sending a large fireball loose as they combined.

A deafening roar came from the inferno, giving off a force of energy and even more heat. From the roaring fire came a large red beast, covered in flames. On its head and along its back it had spikes as sharp as daggers and dark markings on the sides of its body. The creature had the shape of a large cat, but the roar of a demon.

"It seems he is our opponent, we must defeat it if we are to unlock the seal," Kratos spoke as he fell into a combat stance. Lloyd said nothing but fell into a combat stance of his own a short distance in front of Colette. '_His stance almost mirrors Yuan's, but his is more defensive,' _Kratos noted. "Lloyd!" the mercenary barked. The boy turned to look at him out of the corner of his eye, not removing his gaze from the beast. "Lloyd, you stick close to me and provide backup. Genis! Stay back and cast water and ice spells to distract him. Chosen, stay back, and don't get involved in the fight, don't attract attention to yourself! Raine, guard her and use your healing whenever necessary!"

"What about you?" Raine asked, also refraining from breaking eye contact with the fiery beast.

"Watch his movements, once he attacks, Lloyd and I will charge and distract him. During that time, Genis you must use your spells to keep him pinned down," Kratos explained. Raine nodded in understanding.

"I see," she said. "Colette, stay behind me," the professor said as she pulled the blond behind her. The Chosen pushed aside the feeling of uselessness she wore on her face and obeyed. Genis quickly thought about what spells to use and recited all of the incantations in his head. Lloyd and Kratos both focused their gaze on the monster's movements.

'_Ktugach, servant of Efreet,' _Lloyd thought to himself as he examined the beast. The spikes on the top of Ktugach's head began to move slightly as the beast prepared an attack. Suddenly, when it looked like it was about to roar again, it fired several large fireballs from its mouth.

"Now!" Kratos ordered as the two angels simultaneously charged the beast. Kratos swatted a fireball away from him with a power swing of his long sword. Lloyd leaped over another. Two of the attacks collided harmlessly into the defensive barrier that Raine provided to protect herself and Colette. Genis side stepped one heading for him, and the rest of the fireballs soared past them and hit the wall behind them.

As Lloyd and Kratos began charging forward, a small casting circle materialized beneath Genis as he charged up his first spell. The two swordsmen quickly closed the distance between themselves and Ktugach. The beast seemed to gaze into the souls of the swordsmen as it sought out which to attack first. It turned to face Lloyd and lowered its head, preparing to fire some of the spikes from the top of its head. Noticing this Kratos quickly acted to protect his son.

"_**Lightning!**_" He shouted as a bolt of electricity launched from the palm of his hand and struck Ktugach on the side of his head. The beast let out a startle cry before turning to growl at the red haired seraph. Kratos's attack provided Lloyd enough time to launch a few quick attacks against Ktugach's undefended sides. With another cry, it swept its tail and with lightning quick speed knocked the wind out of Lloyd's lungs as it struck his torso.

"Lloyd!" Colette yelled out to the boy as he struggled to get back on his feet, breathing heavily, trying to resupply the air knocked out of him. The Chosen tried to rush to his aid, but Raine's firm grip on her arm prevented her from going anywhere. She was about to protest to Raine, when the blond saw that the professor had already begun working on a healing spell for the boy.

"_**First Aid**_," Raine said, holding up her staff. A small flow of light left the red gem at the top and flowed almost like a river to the boy. When it reached him, it covered the boy in a small aura of light as it healed the damage done to him by the monster. Colette released the breath she had been holding.

"_**Icicle!**_" Genis shouted, finished with his spell, he directed the attack and began charging up his next spell at the same time. A row of ice formed on the ground as it raced towards the fiery cat. Once underneath, the ice grew long and sharp, penetrating the underbelly of Ktugach. With a loud cry of pain, it turned its attention towards the young spell caster. "Uh-oh," Genis said as he noticed the monsters actions.

"Genis move!" Raine yelled. The young magician didn't need to be told twice, he abandoned the spell that was half-charged and ran before a large fireball exploded where he stood seconds ago. Lloyd ran towards the beast, unleashing a multitude of fierce attacks at its face. With a ferocious roar, the beast turned and glared at the young swordsman.

The beast made to bite Lloyd's head, but the boy managed to put his twin swords in an X formation and wedge them into the creature's mouth in between its teeth, just barely holding it back. The monster's strength surprised Lloyd, as it slowly managed to push the blades closer towards their owner. Lloyd could feel the creature's hot breath against his face as the distance between their heads went from feet to inches. He tried to pull his blades free and move, but found the swords stuck. A sudden chill overtook him. "Lloyd! Get out of there!" he heard Colette yell. The yell drew Kratos's attention.

Kratos raced to the rescue, unleashing a powerful slash, leaving a large deep slice in Ktugach's side. The monster didn't turn his attention away from Lloyd, instead, it used the newfound rage that it had from the pain, and forced Lloyd to his knees. Kratos continued to unleash fierce attacks against the monster, but no matter how strong his attacks, Ktugach would not shift its gaze. _**"Aqua Edge**_!" Genis yelled, casting a multitude of watery projectiles towards the monster. Yet still it did not budge.

"_**Sharpness**_!" Raine cast, causing Kratos's blade to glow as the healer's magic gave the blade a magical edge. Colette couldn't just side back anymore; with as much strength as she could muster she broke from Raine's grip and jumped out from behind the elder Sage. "Colette!" Raine called after the girl. Colette didn't respond, instead she took the two chakrams from behind her back and threw them with as much strength and accuracy as she could. The two blade disks cut their way through the air with the skill and grace that only they could. The deadly blade disks tore the flesh of Ktugach's eyes, leaving deep gashes in its face, blinding the monster for all of eternity. With a painful yelp the creature pulled back on its hind legs, falling into its instincts to get away from the pain now that it couldn't see what was attacking it. Colette gracefully plucked the bloody disks out of the air and prepared to throw them again.

Lloyd fell to the ground, his face pale, his heart racing, and skin cold with sweat. His eyes were wide and empty of everything except fear. His father was instantly over him, sword raised and ready to deliver the final blow to the hellcat. With a fierceness not seen by the others Kratos stabbed the creature in the heart, his blade driven in so deep that only the hilt remained visible. The monster howled a bloodied cry as it struggle to remain standing. The older man turned to look at his son, relief evident on his face. Kratos offered a hand to Lloyd as Ktugach continued roaring with pain. It Lloyd a moment to register what happened and he took his father's hand.

"Be careful Lloyd," Kratos spoke in the angelic language just quiet enough for the boy to hear. Ktugach fell to its knees, and then finally its side before it finally grew silent and still. The monster was engulfed in a fierce firestorm, but it quickly dissipated, leaving only the three blades behind.

A small forgotten structure near the back of the room where the monster had appeared suddenly came to life. S small cage like structure seemed to have come up from the floor, in it lay a shadowy figure, to blurry to recognize. The figure was quickly replaced by a bright red glow as the mana began to pour out from the broken seal.

By the time Lloyd retrieved his swords and put them in their cases, he was caught in a tackle-hug by Colette. The blond tightened her grip around the boy, she was so scared of losing him, that it was visible on her face. Then, a voice sounded out to all of the travelers. "O Chosen of Regeneration offer your prayers at the altar," the voice said.

"Yes, my lord," Colette spoke in an almost emotionless voice as she reluctantly released the now startled Lloyd and approached the altar. As she stepped onto its edge, the blond clasped her hands in front of her heart and closed eyes. "Oh Great Goddess Martel, protector and nurturer of the earth, please grant me thy strength and wisdom," she prayed in the angelic language as if rehearsed.

With a bright flash, a golden sphere descended from the ceiling of the temple, shrouded in a pillar of golden light. The small sphere erupted in a brilliant flash, revealing the angel, Remiel.

"Chosen of Regeneration, Colette, you have done well," Remiel spoke, with tone in his voice that suggested that he were a god to them.

"T-Thank you, my Lord," Colette stuttered in awe of the angel before her.

"The guardian of this seal has fallen, and with it Efreet shall hear the call of the Goddess and awaken soon. Then this land will be restored. In the name of Cruxis, I shall grant you the power of the angels," Remiel continued. From the palm of his hand four small spheres of light lifted from his hand and spiraled around Colette as she continued to look at the angel in awe. The spheres of light left a glowing trail behind each one of them, and each was a separate color: red, blue, green, and white; one for each of the seals in Sylvarant. The red sphere had the brightest glow.

The spheres all converged on the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal at the same time, resulting in a quick flash, startling the girl. Suddenly, Colette jumped in surprise. As smooth as a clear creek, two pink wings emerged from her back. It felt surreal, like she had grown a second pair of arms. Yet they were not arms, she didn't quite know just how to phrase it, but they felt so… so magical. The two transparent appendages looked almost like bits of a crystallized wing, but they lacked the solid stone feel. They fluttered calmly behind her. With an experimental flap she found hoisting herself off of the ground not so difficult as she would have thought. With joyous expression on her face, she sought to soar higher.

"The angel transformation will not be without pain, but it is only for one night, be strong and endure," Remiel spoke, a hint of irritancy in his voice. Colette quickly straightened herself in the air and lowered herself to the ground gently.

"I humbly accept this trial my lord," Colette replied with a small bow.

"Very good, the next seal lies far to the east across the ocean, give your prayers to the altar there. I shall await you there, Colette Chosen of Regeneration."

"Yes, Lord Remiel, I shall not fail," Colette spoke as her feet touched the ground. The angel nodded his head sternly before disappearing in a flash back to the heavens above, leaving only a few silver feathers in his wake.

"Colette, you, you have wings!"Genis exclaimed joyously as he found his voice. He ran up to her. "Can I?" he asked hesitantly as he held his hand out. Colette beamed at him as she spread her wings so that Genis could better reach them. Genis slowly ran his hands through one of the wing fragments. "Wow! It's like running your hand through till water, but without getting wet," he observed. Colette closed her eyes while Genis played with her wings. To her it felt like a large source of heat washed through her, warming up every single cold spot in her. Not the heat sort of warm, but rather a fuzzy sort of warm.

Lloyd stood back and watched. He was mesmerized by the girl's wings. Martel told him that an angel's wings were just parts of their souls exposed, and that the Cruxian angels had wings of flesh because their souls were sealed away. Colette's soul however, was pure. It was bright, optimistic, and full of trust and love, and he vowed to protect it, to keep that bright light from going out.

"Lloyd! You've got to try this!" Genis spoke to him snapping him out of his gaze. When he looked towards his friends, he saw Genis looking at him with a childish expression on his face, and Colette with a totally content smile on hers. She opened one of her eyes and looked towards him, and gave him a simple nod, giving him permission to touch the new appendages flowing from her back.

Genis stepped back watching his older friends as Lloyd slowly raised his hand. Gently, ever so gently, Lloyd ran his finger across the edges of her wings, the reaction was immediately noticeable.

If Genis left her with a tingly, fuzzy feel, then Lloyd left her completely euphoric. His gentle touch sent such warmth and bliss through her that she couldn't take it. Her face heated, and she gained a blush deeper than the red jacket that dirk had given Lloyd so he wouldn't accidentally ruin his robes. A slight moan escaped her lips, before she silenced herself. She quickly put the wings away before she could embarrass herself further. '_What, was that?'_ she asked herself as she hid her brilliantly scarlet face.

Lloyd jumped a bit from her reaction as she turned to face away from him. Genis couldn't help but snicker, he had observed the whole transaction, but before he could try and tease the two of them, Colette's hand fell from her face to the base of her neck, she went out a whimper as she fell to the ground.

"Colette!" Both Genis and Lloyd shouted, causing Kratos and Raine who had been discussing the next plan of action to turn to see Colette collapsed on the floor, Genis and Lloyd next to her, trying to wake her up.

"Genis! Lloyd!" Raine called out to the boys. Her knuckles were white as she approached the three kids.

"Sis, we didn't do anything, she just kind of collapsed; please you've gatta believe me!" Genis pleaded.

"Remiel did say that the Chosen would have to endure pain, perhaps this is that trial, it would be best not to move her too much, but we should get her outside so she can rest," Kratos spoke with a tone of authority that dared anyone to oppose it. With a sigh Raine agreed.

The group made to leave the temple, with Kratos leading the way, followed by Lloyd who carried Colette in his arms bridal style, Raine right behind him, ready to administer to Colette should she need it, and Genis at the rear. It seemed strange, the elder sage noted, that the moment Lloyd picked the girl up, he wings practically poured from her back.

Colette woke to find herself being carried like a newly wedded bride. When she looked up she saw that it was Lloyd who was carrying her. She could also feel that ecstatic feeling she had when he touched her wings. Trying to hide her once again brilliantly scarlet face, she buried her face deep into the boy's shoulder; his response was only tightening his hold on her, trying to comfort the new fledgling in his arms. The pain she went in the temple, it felt like something sharp and jagged tore straight threw her heart. It didn't hurt as bad now, but she was still in pain.

**So ends Chapter 16. Wow, 16 chapters, and I'm only just getting past the Seal of Fire, this is gonna be a long story, hope you all are up for it! :p**

**R&R Please and Thank You Your Feedback IS Always Valued and Appreciated!**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 17**

Quite some time after exiting the Seal of Fire and setting up camp just outside of the entrance, the group had fallen back into their regular routine, well, almost regular. Collette was still as pale as a ghost, and she was still shaking. She had gained a fever during the time that they had been setting up camp. At the moment she was laying down on a mat next to Raine with a wet wash cloth resting on her brow. The professor had been administering treatment but after it seemed to only make things worse she stopped and tried with healing spells instead. They had no effect on her.

Lloyd stayed next to her side the whole with the exception of once or twice to help set up the camp. From his spot, Lloyd could see Kratos standing on what was once a pillar, watching over the sandy wasteland that stretched out before them. The mercenary seemed even more alert than normal, and that was saying something. Genis was reading a book, a spell book Lloyd guessed, to help pass the time as well as learn more powerful, complicated spells. Noishe, having joined them as the group surfaced from the abysmal tunnel had since curled up next to his master, laying his head on Lloyd's lap.

Lloyd absent mindedly stroked Noishe's head as he thought about his mission, '_Protect Colette from Cruxis,'_ he thought. That was what the Lady Martel had asked him to do, but she didn't tell him how. But then, how was he supposed to do it? How was he supposed to save Colette when his own father was leading their group steadily towards the Tower of Salvation? How was he supposed to save her when Mithos was waiting for them at the tower? How was he supposed to save her when she herself wanted to continue with the transformation, eventually leading to her death?

He couldn't, not unless he was going to fight them all. He bounced the thought around in his head for a moment. After a second he shook the thought out of his head. '_No,'_ he reasoned. '_That would be suicide I can't beat my dad, yet alone Mithos.' _A frown played across his face, of which did not go unnoticed by the blonde at his side. '_Maybe Uncle Yuan can help me,'_ Lloyd thought as he was about to rise.

His motion was stopped just as it started. Colette had reached up and grasped his arm, a sad look on her face. Her eyes looked as those she could feel his uneasiness despite her own suffering. Lloyd removed the frown from his face and reseated himself next to Colette who in turn smiled happily at him.

Colette rose so that she was sitting instead of lying down; the blanket that had been tucked over fell to her lap and the damp washcloth along with it.

"Colette, you should really get some rest," Raine said taking a break from taking inventory of their supplies and gesturing back to the mat. Colette waved her concern off with a wave of her hand.

"No no! It's ok, I'm fine," The blonde replied. Lloyd didn't buy it, Raine didn't buy it, and Colette knew it. But nobody forced her back down.

With a tired sigh Raine said, "Alright, but if you start to feel dizzy lay back down." Colette nodded her head. The chosen scooted a little closer to the young priest.

"Lloyd, are you ok? You look so worried," Colette asked him sincerely.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me. How are you feeling?" Lloyd returned.

"Are you sure Lloyd? You've seemed kind of well, different since Iselia was attacked," Colette said completely ignoring his own question.

"I've just had a lot on my mind, and not really a lot of time to sort things out without something else happening," Lloyd said, a frown playing at his face. Colette tugged on his arm as she moved closer, their sides now touching.

"Lloyd, I'm sorry if I'm-"she was cut off.

"It's not your fault," Lloyd said suddenly surprising Colette. The tone of the boy's voice gave her the impression that he was nervous, maybe even scared. "I-I froze up there, when my swords got stuck in that thing's jaw I should just let them go and put distance between it and myself, but I just froze there, and it almost… For as much good as I was I may as well have just let that thing e-"Lloyd was cut off by a violent tug on his arm, nearly catching him off balance.

Colette looked at him angrily, if not disapprovingly. "Don't you even dare think like that!" she snapped. Her newly acquired wings burst to life from between her shoulder blades as her emotions took a drastic turn. "Don't ever think like that Lloyd! You were scared, it happens to everyone. It's ok to get scared sometimes." Her expression softening, wings beating peacefully behind her.

Lloyd was mesmerized by the girl, and that little warm feeling came back to him in full force. Tearing his gaze away from the blonde, Lloyd looked into the fire, letting loose his negative thoughts to flow into the fire, a small gust of wind made the fire look like it reacted to his emotions. "Alright," he said.

"Promise me Lloyd, promise me you never think like that again," Colette demanded. Lloyd couldn't help but feel her gaze on him. The warm feeling was getting worse.

"Alright, I promise," Lloyd replied turning back towards Colette, who beamed happily.

"Good!" she chirped. "So what else is bothering you?" Before Lloyd could protest, Colette silenced him with a finger to his lips. "I know you better than that Lloyd, something is eating you up, and it has been since we found each other at Triet. You've been quiet lately, and had this look like you're thinking of something really hard."

Taken aback by the girl's observation, Lloyd blinked in surprise. He had no idea that his dilemma was leaving such a visual appearance on him. Seeing that Colette was waiting for an answer, Lloyd decided to be honest, but still kept his secret. "I'm just wondering what will happen once we reach the Tower of Salvation. What will happen after that," he said.

"That's easy!" Genis suddenly interrupted. "The three of us will go back to Iselia, and everything will go back to normal, but only better because the Desians will be gone, and Sylvarant will be saved." Genis smirk. The bliss of ignorance was written all over his face.

Both Lloyd and Colette looked taken aback. They had forgotten that like most of the children of their village, with the exception of those training to be priests and of course the Chosen, the kids usually learned the true meaning of the Journey of World Regeneration once they came of age, as a means to learn to appreciate the Chosen's sacrifice and to cherish the privileges that they had. It was Phiadra's idea if Lloyd remembered correctly.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied, a smile forming on his face. "We'll all go back home, right Colette?" the brunette asked the stunned blonde. Colette quickly shook off her shock and replaced it with her usual poker face smile.

"Of course!" she replied. "But Lloyd," Colette said, trying to get the attention of their conversation off of herself. "What about you, as a full-fledged priest you can go and start your own temple, or set up a House of Salvation, or head to Palmacasta to serve at the Cathedral," she went on.

"I don't know yet," Lloyd replied. "What about you Genis?"

"I don't know, I might go to the academy at Palmacasta, or I'll stay in Iselia. I'm not sure yet either. What about you Colette?" Genis replied.

Both shocked and dismayed that the conversation had come full circle Colette replied. "As Chosen I have to make sure the world is happy and safe, so I'll constantly have to travel," She lied trying to come up with a good reason for why Genis would never see her again.

"If that's the case, I think I'll go with you," Lloyd suddenly said, effectively stunning the blonde. Confusion bubbled up inside of her. Lloyd knew she would die, he knew she would never be traveling, so why would he say that? It made no sense to her, unless…

'_Lloyd…,' _she suddenly realized what was going on with the boy. Her heart ached with fear for him. He fully expected to die, and she only now realized it. Whatever had happened at Iselia must have really changed him. _"Daddy said, that Mr. Lloyd is an angel now,"_ she remembered the little girl's words back in Iselia. Her eyes shot wide with shock. It was not that, but something more...

Impossible, it was just impossible. Either Lloyd had died in Iselia and been sent back down from Heaven to help her, or there was more to the boy than she had ever expected. She asked her grandmother where Lloyd came from a long time ago because all Lloyd told her was that he didn't remember, but Phiadra always told her to ask the boy himself, starting a never ending cycle of confusion. Of the two options, she prayed it was the second.

"Colette? You ok? You went pale all of the sudden, maybe you should lie back down," Genis suggested. Colette blinked and found herself with Genis looking at her, a worried expression on his face. A little ways off, she saw Lloyd and Kratos talking, probably exchanging shifts. Raine was watching her carefully out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, ok," Colette submitted. Things suddenly started to make a little more sense, the strange birds, the defending of Iselia, and saving Genis; Lloyd had played a role in all of those and still managed to beat her to Triet. There was only one explanation. "_When Cruxis favors a Chosen, the Goddess Martel shall send a guardian angel to protect and guide the Chosen on her Journey of World Regeneration," _she remembered reading when she was a little girl.

Colette rested her head on the wrapped blankets that made up her pillow and cast a last glance at the brunette who now sat on top of the rock Kratos was on a minute ago, scratching Noishe behind the ears, never taking his eyes off of the horizon. '_Lloyd is my guardian angel,' _she thought to herself. A happy smile made its way to her face, she had never been this happy or relieved in her entire life.

* * *

'_Where are you going?' _Lloyd had asked him. To which Kratos responded merely with "a walk." Kratos knew his son knew exactly what it meant; surely he had felt their mana closing in on them since they exited the Seal of fire.

Kratos reached the top of a sand dune and saw the glow of several campfires off in the distance. The bandits that had tried to ambush them earlier had been following them, waiting for the group to rest. Did they not realize that the Chosen was with them? If not, Kratos was going to make them realize it. Besides, he figured, he needed to let off some stress. Lloyd was way too attached to the Chosen, and she to him, and even the glare that had once left Lord Yggrassil cowering had no effect in this matter.

Quickly closing the distance between himself and the encampment, Kratos closed in on a sentry just a few dunes away. Realizing using any spell would give him away, he loosened his sword in its sheath, drawing it as quietly as possible as he silently closed in on the bandit.

The mad wore a red vest and some simple clothe pants, a red headband on his brow. A bow in his hands, quiver at his waist, and a small dagger opposite of it. Creeping up behind him while the sentry yawned and rubbed his eyes to keep himself awake, Kratos placed a hand over his mouth. Startled the man jumped and tried to pry Kratos's hand from his mouth. Acting quickly Kratos stabbed the man through the back, leaving him dead in seconds.

Kratos quickly pulled his blade out of the dead man and flicked it once, his superior strength causing the blood to fly off. Turning around he made quick work of the other two sentries in his way towards the camp, catching both of them off guard, and executing them without a sound.

The camp was row right in front of him. Seven large bonfires burned, with meat cooking over them. Each fire had a circle of tents surrounding it. The largest tent, which he Assumed belonged to this "Ridly the Ripper." There were at least one hundred bandits, possibly more in the tents, but it would not matter.

Although Kratos preferred his elven blessed sword Flamberg, the steel sword he had brought with him to Sylvarant was comfortable in his hands. Feeling confident that he had the element of surprise, he walked straight forward into the camp. His suspicions about these bandits were proven true. They were amateurs, not expecting to be infiltrated due to their sentries. Overconfident, amateurish, and downright pathetic, the world wouldn't miss them.

"Hey! Who the hell are you!" a voice yelled at him. Maybe they were hopeless, but they noticed him sooner than expected. Within seconds, Kratos was completely surrounded by bandits. His other suspicion was correct as well, there were more bandits hiding in the tents. Upon closer inspection, many of them did not look like they originated from the desert; in fact more of them looked like miners than anything.

Some of the bandits in front of the red head parted to show the figure leading the bandit raid from the other day. "Who the hell are you?" he asked. Kratos remained silent.

One of the bandits stepped forward. "You mangy git, when Ridly-the-Riper asks you a question, you answer it!" he yelled.

"Wait," Ridly said. "I recognize you; you were with that group of travelers heading through my desert, which means if you're here then they are unguarded. Go get'em lads!" he shouted to a group of bandits behind the mercenary. A large group of bandits turned and ran towards the direction of the Chosen's camp.

They didn't get far before Kratos raised a hand, lightning crackling between his fingers. In less than a second, the seraphim turned and fired lightning at the group. They all dropped dead, charred, and smoking. The rest of the bandits hid their alarm. They were more disciplined than Kratos expected.

"So you know a few fancy tricks do ya?" Ridly asked. "Well then, we'll just have to show you what good tricks do when you've been run through ya!" All the bandits decided to rush him at once.

Kratos moved with grace and speed the likes which none of the bandits had ever seen, in the time it took them to draw their daggers, the red head had already killed four bandits, felled seven more by the time the bulk of their force closed in on him. Another 10 bodies hit the sand without missing a beat. Already a lake of corpses surrounded the red head. The bandits' confidence began to waver, and Kratos could tell.

As the bandits began to back off a little bit Kratos raised his hand up, lighting crackling into existence. Before they knew what hit them, lightning soared and killed over a dozen bandits at once. Archers began to ready their bows from a good distance back. As they pulled their bowstrings back, the sound of the straining wood echoed in the old seraph's ears. Letting his Cruxis Crystal blink to life Kratos felt his strength and abilities increase tenfold. With a sudden burst of speed, he broke through the blockade of bandits, slaughtering all in his way, and made a beeline for the archers.

Not expecting the sudden burst of speed, the archers fired their arrows into their own comrades, where Kratos was a second ago. By the time they realized their mistake, it was too late. Cries of anguish rung all over the camp as bandits dropped from both arrow and sword wounds. The small army of bandits had fallen to just a large collection of men now.

"Who," Ridly asked, staring horrified at Kratos. "Who the hell are you? What the hell is going on?" Kratos didn't answer. "First that _thing _takes the mountain pass from us, and no you're slaughtering us."

"What thing?" Kratos suddenly asks. Ridly sees an opportunity.

"If I tell you, will you let us live?" he asked desperately. Kratos didn't answer but his eyes narrowed. "This thing, it was pure evil. It appeared in the mines and just started killing everything. It appeared almost a week ago. We had to leave the pass and come here to the desert to survive. We've been surviving by taking supplies from trader caravans and travelers that entered these deserts. Most of my men here aren't even my men; they're miners who fled the mountain pass with us…" He said. "Be careful if you are trying to cross the pass that thing is dangerous, we couldn't even get close to it. It's evil…"

"Is that so?" Kratos asked unnerved. His blue wings flowed from his back as a casting circle appeared underneath him.

"Who? What are you?" Ridly asked, falling to the ground in fear, his curved sword falling from his hands. The remaining bandits all gasped in fear at Kratos.

"I am a Seraphim of Cruxis," Kratos stated. "Here to press judgment upon you for attacking the Chosen of Regeneration." The bandits' courage faltered and they began to run.

"But, we had a deal, you said-"Ridly started. Then it hit him, the group of travelers he had ordered his men to attack was the Chosen and her companions, he brought this upon himself.

"I didn't say anything," Kratos replied as he built up mana. "Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls, rest in peace sinners, **Judgment**!" Beams of light engulfed all of the bandits, including those who had tried to flee. All of their cries fell silent in seconds as the beams of light crashed down upon them burning their bodies to ashes. The only sound pervading the silence left in the encampment was the crackling of the fires and the howl of the wind. Sheathing his blade, Kratos turned back towards his own encampment.

* * *

It had only been a few hours since Kratos left the camp. Lloyd knew why, he was keeping track of the bandits' mana signatures too until they were suddenly snuffed out of existence. The others were all asleep, the fire was kept low as too avoid any stray eyes from any bandits, Lloyd knew there were none, but Raine insisted.

Noishe whined quietly, begging Lloyd to scratch him behind the ears. As the young angel surrendered to the arshis's request, he allowed his thoughts to wander back to how he was going to complete this border-line-suicidal-mission.

Suddenly Noishe's head perked up towards the horizon and soon after Lloyd followed the arshis's example. Kratos appeared in the distance and made his way back to the camp. The two of them didn't say a word, instead, they just silently switched shifts, and Lloyd went to go lay down, to give the appearance of getting sleep, even if the others were asleep already.

* * *

**Chapter 17: a little dark but sets up the next couple of chapters. I hope you enjoyed it, please tell me what you think so far. Thanks!**

**R&R**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Tales of Angels**_

**Chapter 18**

The following morning, after Colette reassured the elder Sage that she was fine the group returned to Triet at a much quicker pace than when they first departed. Whether that was because the wind was to their backs, or that they had more enthusiasm, Lloyd couldn't tell. The entire trip back Lloyd had been keeping to himself and was silent unless asked a question. The ominous question of how he was supposed to protect Colette still remained unanswered and despite how hard he looked he just couldn't find a way to save her without violence. And even then, things still looked grim.

Colette had been so happy and felt so relieved when she realized that the Goddess Martel had blessed her with a guardian angel. But what had really made her elated was that when she turned into an angel and left for Derris Kharlan, she wouldn't have to leave him behind; instead they could spend an eternity together in heaven. Of course she was still sad that she would have to leave Genis behind, but she couldn't help but feel happy. The first seal had been taken care of, albeit painfully, but done none the less. The journey to release the seals wasn't going to be impossible, it could actually be done. She could do this after all!

She would be lying if she said she didn't feel any pain, but she was just so happy that it barely bothered her. While her muscles were tense and sore, her ears hurt too. When she woke up, Colette had realized that her hearing had become much more acute. The sounds of her friends' breathing echoed in her ears, as if they were breathing into them. When the wind picked up, the gale unleashed a loud rumble. But that was not all she had noticed in the morning. The normally delicious food that Genis had made for breakfast tasted plain, like it had no flavor. It was also hard to keep the food down and made her stomach upset. Of course she wouldn't let the others know. On the other hand, she finally realized why Lloyd always ate so little food.

The group stopped to take a break, and rehydrate themselves. Even with their remarkable progress, it proved to be unwise to allow them to continue on as it was. The sun was at its highest point and the heat was intense, Colette didn't think she had sweated so much in her entire life, she felt disgusting. She drained what was left in her canteen in just a few quick gulps. When she realized it was empty she let out a disappointed whimper, but not loud enough that anyone would hear, or so she hoped. She hadn't realized just how much she had drank on their way to the seal.

After taking a quick drink, Lloyd handed his canteen to the blonde who accepted the canteen without thinking and immediately began to drain its contents. It was the exact same as hers, a simple white canteen with a blue cap. The only difference between the two was that his was marked with an "L" instead of a "C" like hers. The priest then took a larger canteen from the bags Noishe was carrying along with a large bowl and poured water for the large dog like creature.

Colette only realized whose canteen she was drinking from when she realized it was much like her own, only heavier due to the water still stored inside. She blinked twice before looking for its owner. She saw him letting Noishe have water as well, the poor animal; his fur must be killing him. She watched the creature greedily drain the bowl of water and give off a grateful whine as Lloyd refilled it. She decided to sit down on the ground to rest her legs, spreading her newly acquired pink appendage. With a few gentle flaps she created a small breeze to help cool herself down under the blazing sun.

She both loved her wings and was a bit apprehensive of them at the same time. They let her feel free, as if she were able to use a pair of arms that had, up until recently, been bound by invisible rope. It felt wonderful to stretch them and of course there was the flying to enjoy as well. But at the same time, they were a constant reminder of who she was, and what she had to do; that there were more challenges to overcome, more pain, more "transformations," she didn't think she was prepared for such a task. For just a moment Colette wished she was just a regular sixteen year old girl, going to school like a regular girl, doing the things that normal girls did instead of trekking through this blazing desert under the unbearably hot sun. But just as quick as the thoughts crossed her mind she squashed them.

'_I am the Chosen of Regeneration, all of the people of Sylvarant are depending on me, and I should be honored to have this role!" _she quickly scolded herself, but deep down she still wished that things could have turned out differently. She barely noticed Genis move to sit next to her and she subconsciously beat her wings harder to help cool her friend down as well.

"You know Colette," Genis started that look on his face that told her he was scheming something. "They say that if two people drink from the same canteen right after each other it's the same as if they were kiss-!" Colette quickly cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth. Blushing embarrassedly Colette quickly took a glance to her side to see if Lloyd was paying attention to what Genis was saying.

"Noishe! Give it back! You can have all the water you want when we get back to Triet!" Lloyd argued with the large dog as they fought over the water bowl. Colette couldn't help but sigh in relief as Lloyd fell back, holding the bowl with a victorious look on his face, Noishe left out a low defeated whine. He wasn't paying attention after all.

The group returned to the Desert Oasis town just as the sun was nearing the horizon. They managed to get the same three rooms from the inn keeper that they had the last time they were there. Using the same room arrangement as before the group dispersed into their respective rooms to settle in for the night. While the others were getting ready for bed, Lloyd slipped outside, his thoughts still searching for the answer to his conundrum. Lloyd personally saw to it that Noishe was well taken care of and gave him as much water as he wanted as promised. After the Arshis had its fill the dog like creature contently whined, curled into a ball and fell asleep. By watching his faithful companion Lloyd was suddenly struck with inspiration. He knew what he could do! It was risky, very risky, bit probably his best shot.

The boy ran back into the inn, to his and his father's room, grabbed a piece of paper off of the writing desk and dashed back outside. He was as silent as he was quick during the whole ordeal. His father was surprisingly not in their room but he didn't stop to wonder about that, no he had to work quickly while he had the chance.

Lloyd sat down next to Noishe and pulled a small piece of paper that he had taken from his room in the inn. Channeling a small portion of mana to the tip of his right index finger Lloyd began to write a message in the angelic language. Once his message was completed he sealed the writing so that only he and the person for whom it was meant for could read it.

Clenching his fist, he gathered more mana, which began to glow in his hand with a soft cerulean glow. Opening his palm the mana took the form of a pigeon. Folding the note up into a tiny roll, he tied it to the blue bird's foot with a thin thread of mana as well. Standing up, the boy took a few steps toward the nearest entrance to the town and pulled the glowing bird of many close to his mouth.

"Take this message to Uncle Yuan, and no one else. Make sure he gets it and reads it," Lloyd whispered to the bird softly. He sent the bird a mental picture of the blue haired seraph. The pigeon hooted in acknowledgement before flying off at a speed impossible for any normal bird, leaving behind a shimmering blue trail of light. Knowing that Yuan had his base hidden just a few hours' worth of traveling to the west of Triet, Lloyd figured the bird would just head towards that direction, he was momentarily surprised when it changed directions and flew off to the northeast. '_I just hope that Uncle Yuan gets it soon, it's going to be hard enough as it is,'_ the young angel thought to himself.

With a sigh he let the thought go and instead turned back to the sandy horizon. The last few traces of light from the sun were nearly gone as the giant cruel ball of fire had passes beneath the edge of the world a short while ago. The remaining orange-red light had mixed in with the blue darkness of the night casting a deep indigo color across the sky. The stars were becoming more and more visible by the second as more came out from hiding. The moon was already out, and showering the land in its tranquil magnificence. The shops around the town center were closing up, their owners either heading deeper into the interior where they lived or packed up their stalls and began to proceed home. The houses built deeper into the town became alive with lights as families also went about their nightly routines before retiring.

Lloyd felt a twinge of guilt, he had to let Colette go through so much, she had already lost her ability to eat, what would be next? If she was going to go through it the same as he did then she would lose her ability to sleep next, and that would prove to be awkward every night for the rest of their journey. He was sure of that; it would mean that three of them would be staying up all night long, every night. Not exactly discrete when he thought about it…

"Lloyd," a voice said behind him, startling the boy out of his trance. He turned around to see Kratos kneeling down in front of Noishe, scratching him behind the ears, looking at him. Once he saw that he had his son's attention he stood and approached him, standing to his side.

"Yeah dad?" Lloyd asked.

"What have you been thinking of this entire time?" Kratos asked. He folded his arms as he waited for Lloyd's response. Lloyd in turn fidgeted nervously.

"I've been trying to think of a way to protect Colette, after all, I did promise Lady Martel I would keep here safe," Lloyd started as a smile made its way to his face. He turned his head up and gazed at the stars, they were always so beautiful, and so captivating. He and Colette used to spend hours just gazing up at the stars. Lloyd's smile slowly disappeared as that strange warm fuzzy feeling came back again. "But I know I need to become stronger, I'm confident in my magic, Uncle Yuan made me learn many of the advanced tiers before I turned thirteen, but I know I still have to improve my swordsmanship," he added as he absent mindedly grasped one of the hilts of his sword.

"I see, well then Lloyd, allow me to continue where he left off," Kratos spoke. Lloyd had a surprised look on his face. "Just because you've learned a lot of magic doesn't mean you can shirk your swordsmanship."

Lloyd smiled and nodded. "Alright, when should we start?" he asked.

"Right now," Kratos simply said as he pulled his long sword from its sheath. Lloyd drew his twin swords from their sheaths and the two moved to a clearer spot so as to not run into something by accident. Kratos started the training session by having his son execute a few basic attacks to get a better understanding of his fighting style. Afterwards Kratos had Lloyd spar with him for a few hours. Kratos tested Lloyd's adaptability while fighting by changing his own fighting style as well as the amount of force he put behind each blow.

After a few hours past, judging by the moon's rise into the sky the two swordsmen lay down next to Noishe in his pen. Using his soft green and white fur as a blanket the two sat and watched the stars above them.

"It's been a long time since I actually just sat down and watched the stars," Kratos spoke up suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between the two of them. Lloyd shifted a little, resting his hands behind his head.

"I haven't looked at them in a while either," Lloyd agreed. "It's calming," he added.

"The stars defiantly seem to humble us, making this world seem so small, and us even smaller," Kratos spoke.

"Dad?" Lloyd suddenly asked, getting the red head's attention.

"Yes Lloyd?" the seraph asked.

"I think you need to start acting a little more human, I've noticed Raine studying you, and I think she's getting suspicious," Lloyd suggested. Kratos turned his head towards his son and watched as the boy's gaze still lay upon the stars. "I know it's hard, but you have to at least act human, you know, eat at every meal, and look like you actually sleep at night. I've been doing it for years," Lloyd said as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

Kratos gave it a bit of thought. "Perhaps you are right, I will try to act a little more human," he said. He suddenly realized what his son had mentioned. "You've lost your ability to sleep? Have you lost anything else?"

Lloyd shifted a little uncomfortably. "When I was younger, I lost the ability to feel, but that one came back just a couple of years ago. I lost my ability to sleep a little before that though, well unless you count that one time," Lloyd said, sounding uncomfortable.

"That one time?" Kratos asked. Lloyd sighed.

"Shortly after Iselia was attacked, I spread my wings to try and catch up with you guys, but Uncle Yuan stopped me, probably a good thing too. I don't even know how long I was out, but he said it was something about using too much mana. Then he gave me this," Lloyd said motioning towards the gem on his hand. "To try and explain my angelic strength and ability to use magic."

"That reminds me, if you knew the Chosen was leaving, why didn't you go with her?" Kratos asked.

"I knew from the moment that I rescued Genis at the Ranch that Forcystus would invade the village, he's not one to someone get away without a fight. As for the fight itself, I don't know what happened really, I just… acted," Lloyd explained. "The next thing I knew, I won and was going to catch up with you guys, Yuan stopped me and while I was preening I passed out."

'_Preening?'_ Kratos thought to himself. "You have to preen your feathers?" he asked. Lloyd nodded.

"Every month I try to preen my wings at least once so that I can stretch them and keep them from getting messy, you never know when flying will become absolutely necessary and neat and clean wings made a big difference," Lloyd stated as if he'd been preached to about it. Kratos couldn't help but chuckle. "That actually reminds me," the boy suddenly said as he let the cerulean luminescent appendages unfold from his back.

Kratos just sat there and watched his son work. The care and detail that the boy worked with made his father proud. The red head studied the boy's wings taking note of every feather that seemed out of place and pointing them out. He'd never been happier spending such a relaxing evening with Lloyd.

**Wow, it's been forever since I updated… thought I'd throw in some father/son fluff** **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think of it! Thanks!**


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